- 


.'  iSfcs.*r 


^OT^  TIO 


HUME  LIBRARY 

INSTITUTE  OF  FOOD  AND 
AGRICULTURAL  SCIENCES 

UNIVERSITY  OF  FLORIDA 

Gainesville 


K- 


Er^i 


Bull.  17,  Biological  Survey,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture 


Plate  I. 


Fig.   1.— Dwelling  House  on  Bryan  Farm. 


Fig.  2.— View  of  the  Potomac  from  Bryan  Homestead,  Showing  Feeding 
Places  of  Gulls,  Ducks,  and  other  Waterfowl. 

Mount  Vernon  in  tin-  distance. 


U.S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE 

DIVISION  OF  BIOLOGICAL  SURVEY— BULLETIN  Ro.  17 


C.  HART    MERRIAM,  Chief 


BIRDS  OF  A  MARYLAND  FARM 


A  LOCAL  STUDY  OF  ECONOMIC  oRMTHol.or.Y 


BY 


SYLVESTER   D.  JUDD,  Ph.  D. 

ASSISTANT,  BIOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


PREPARED   UNDER  THE   DIRECTION   OF 

Dr.    C.    H^RT    MI  E  R  R  I  J±  Ml 
Chief  of  Biological  Survey 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT     PRINTING     OFFICE 

19o- 


J 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL 


U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Washington,  I).  <?.,  July  5.  t902. 
Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith,  for  publication  as  Bul- 
letin 17  of  the  Biological  Survey,  a  report  on  the  Birds  of  a  Maryland 
Farm,  the  same  being  a  local  study  in  economic  ornithology  by  one 
of  my  assistants,  Dr.  Sylvester  I).  Judd.  Acknowledgment  is  made 
to  the  Entomologist  for  assistance  in  the  determination  of  some  of  the 
insects,  as  well  as  for  the  use  of  certain  illustrations. 

Respectfully.  C.  Hart  Merriam, 

Chief,  Biological  Survey. 
Hon.  James  Wilson, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture. 

3 


Atifti 
CULTUR' 


CONTENTS. 


I.  Introduction 9 

Topography  of  Bryan  farm 10 

Distribution  of  birds 12 

Birds  that  feed  in  open  fields 12 

Birds  that  depend  on  cover 15 

Birds  of  less  limited  distribution 17 

Birds  of  varied  distribution 19 

Topography  of  Hungerford  farm 20 

II.  Ensectfood 21 

<  Irane-flies 21 

May-flies 22 

[nfested  crops 24 

Infested  tires  and  shrubs 28 

Certain  destructive  insects 30 

Useful  insects .">t> 

Summary _ 41 

F'  m  "1  of  nestlings 48 

<  reneral  remarks 48 

III.  Vertebrate  food 50 

Poultry  and  game 50 

Fish  .' 

( larrion 53 

Mammals 54 

IV.  Fruit 

Cultivated  varieties 55 

Wild  fruit 58 

V.  ( train 65 

VI.  Weed  seed 70 

Weed  destruction  1  >y  native  sparrows 72 

Weed  destruction  by  other  birds 7"> 

VII.  Species 79 

Water  birds 79 

<  •  relies 79 

I US B0 

M  urres 80 

<  mils  and  terns SO 

Ducks,  geese,  and  other  waterfowl 80 

Herons 81 

Kail   81 

Coots si 

shore  birds 82 

( rallinaceous  hirds 83 

Pi-icons  and  doves 85 

Vultures 85 


6  CONTENTS. 

VII.  Species — Continued.  ]>,,-,.. 

Hawks 85 

owls 86 

Cuckoos 87 

Kingfishers 87 

Woodpeckers 88 

Whip-pooi-wills,  night-hawks,  swifts,  and  hummingbirds 91 

Flycatchers 91 

Horned  larks 93 

Blue  jays  and  crows 93 

Mcadowlarks,  bobolinks,  and  cowbirds 94 

Blackbirds  and  orioles 95 

Finches  and  sparrows 97 

Tanagers 98 

Swallows 98 

Cedar  birds 99 

Shrikes 100 

Vireos 102 

Warblers 103 

Mockingbirds,  catbirds,  thrashers,  and  wrens 104 

Creepers  and  nuthatches 107 

Titmice 107 

Kinglets 108 

Gnatcatchers 108 

Thrushes 108 

VIII.  Summary........... 110 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PLATES. 

Page. 
Plate  I.  Fig.  1,  Dwelling  house  on  Bryan  farm;  Fig.  2,  View  of  Potomac  from 
Bryan  homestead,  .showing  feeding  places  of  gulls,  ducks,  and  other 

waterfi  >wl Frontispiece. 

II.  Map  of  Bryan  farm,  where  the  investigations  wore  carried  on 12 

III.  Fig.  1,  Bay  and  hill  adjacent  to  calamus  swamp;  Fig.  2,  Bryan  farm 

from  the  river,  showing  shore,  bluff,  alluvial  plain,  and  forested 

hills 16 

IV.  Fig.  1,  River  bluff  in  winter,  which  shelters  several  native  sparrow rs; 

Fig.  2,  Hog-lot  gully,  which  furnishes  shelter,  shade,  and  food  for 

many  birds 16' 

V.  Fig.  1,  Weedy  old  cornfield,  lot  3;  Fig.  2,  Pasture,  lot  1 24 

VI.  Fig.  1,  Trumpet  creeper  and  other  vines  of  river  bluff;  Fig.  2,  Broom- 
sedge  and  briers  in  hog  lot 24 

VII.  Fig.  1,  Calamus  swamp,  the  haunt  of  several  marsh-loving  birds; 

Fig.  2,  Calamus  swamp  in  winter,  showing  hill  tenanted  by  blue 

jays,  great  horned  owls,  red-shouldered  hawks,  and  ruffed  grouse. .         32 

VIII.  Fig.  1,  Tobacco  field  of  lot  2,  where  the  effect  of  birds   upon  an 

uprising  of   tobacco  worms  was  studied;    Fig.  2,  Sweet  potatoes 

and  pear  orchard,  where  various  investigations  were  made 32 

IX.  Food  of  nestlings  and  adults  of  three  common  birds:  Fig.  1,  House 

wren;  Fig.  2,  Bank  swallow;  Fig.  3,  Catbird 48 

X.   Fig.  1,  Red-tailed  hawk;  Fig.  2,  Short-eared  owl 48 

XI.  Fig.  1,  Sassafras  as  a  weed  in  lot  5;  Fig.  2,  Corn  injured  by  crows. . .         64 
XII.  Fig.  1,  Cornfield,  lot  5;  Fig.  2,  Wheat  stubble,  lot  3.    (The  line  of  trees 

in  the  middle  ground  marks  the  course  of  Persimmon  Branch) 64 

XIII.  Four  common  seed-destroying  sparrows:  1,  junco;  2,  white-throated 

sparrow;  :;,  f ox  sparrow;  4,  tree  sparrow 72 

XIV.    Fig.  1,  Giant  ragweed  in  garden;  Fig.  2,  Broom-sedge  appropriating 

land 72 

XV.   Fig.  1,  Bobwhite;  Fig.  2,  Woodcock 80 

XVI.  Fig.  1,  Broom-sedge  of  lot  2,  frequented  at  night  by  bobwhites;  Fig. 
2,  Partridge  pea  overspreading  pasture  of  l"t  i,  eaten  extensively 
by  bobwhites.     (The  pines  in  the  background  were  defoliated  by 

the  pine  saw-fly  in  the  spring  of  L900) 80 

XVI!     Fig.  I,  Bluebird  at  edge  of  nest;  Fig.  2,  Former  nesting  site  of  blue- 
birds on  lawn  at  Bryan  farm „ 96 

7 


0  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FIGURES. 

Page. 

Fig.  1.  Meadowlark 1 12 

2.  Mourning  dove 13 

3.  Song  sparrow .16 

4.  Catbird 18 

5.  May-fly 22 

6.  Tobacco  worm 27 

7.  Pale-striped  flea-1  >eetle 30 

8.  Rose-chafer 31 

9.  Kingbird 31 

10.  Grasshopper 32 

11 .  Weevil 34 

12.  ( rround-beetle 37 

13.  Ichneumon-fly : 40 

1 4.  Cutworm  and  moth 42 

15.  Dung-beetle 42 

16.  Barn  swallow 47 

17.  Diagram  showing  proportions  of  food  of  common  crow 48 

18.  Diagram  showing  proportions  of  food  of  crow  blackbird 49 

19.  Cooper  hawk 51 

20.  Great  horned  owl 52 

21.  Melons  damaged  by  crows 58 

22.  Pellet  ejected  by  crow 63 

2.').  Some  common  seeds  found  in  crow  pellets 64 

24.  Common  crow , 65 

25.  Crow  blackbird 67 

26.  English  sparrow 68 

27.  Weed  seeds  commonly  eaten  1  >y  1  >irds 71 

28.  Field  spam  >\v „ 74 

29.  Goldfinch 75 

30.  Yellow-billed  cuckoo 87 

31.  Yellow-bellied  sapsucker 89 

32.  Flicker 90 

33.  Phoebe - 93 

34.  Blue  jay 94 

35.  Bobolink  95 

36.  Red-winged  blackbird 96 

37.  Cedar  bird 99 

38.  Mockingbird 105 

3,9.  Brown  thrasher , 106 

40.  House  wren ■ 107 

41.  Robin 109 


BIRDS  OF  A  MARYLAND  FARM, 


I.— INTRODUCTION. 

The  principal  method  used  by  the  Biological  Survey  in  investigat- 
ing tin1  food  habits  of  birds  is  examination  of  the  contents  of  stomachs, 

the  material  for  which  is  obtained  from  all  part-  of  the  [Jnited 
States.  In  the  case  of  each  species  the  separate  data  accumulated  by 
examining  as  many  stomachs  as  possible  are  tabulated  and  show  the 
food  of  the  bird  in  question  to  consist  of  various  proportions  of  cer- 
tain (dements.  This  method,  combining  as  it  does  data  from  many 
parts  of  the  country,  gives  results  necessarily  somewhat  composite, 
but  certainly  trustworthy,  and  shows  to  what  extent  a  bird  eats 
fruit,  grain,  or  insects,  thus  furnishing  a  comprehensive1  and  detailed 
knowledge  of  food  habits  that  probably  could  not  be  obtained  by  any 
other  available  means. 

In  a  study  of  local  conditions,  however,  general  conclusions  regard- 
ing the  utility  of  a  bird  based  on  data  from  perhaps  a  score  or  more 
of  States  may  sometimes  require  modification.  For  instance,  from  a 
study  of  the  smaller  herons  from  material  collected  from  North,  South, 
East,  and  West  the  conclusion  would  be  drawn  that  they  live  on  food 
of  no  economic  value  and  are  therefore  unimportant  species.  But 
a  study  of  these  birds  in  the  State  of  Louisiana  alone  shows  them  to 
be  highly  useful,  for  here  they  pre}^  on  crayfish,  which,  by  tunneling 
through  the  levees,  cause  great  damage  to  crops  by  iiood.  In  similar 
ways  the  relations  of  birds  to  a  certain  locality  or  particular  farm 
can  not  always  be  exactly  tested  by  conclusions  drawn  from  a  large 
range  of  territory.  The  exact  damage  to  crops  is  not  revealed  by 
stomach  examination.  A  bird  may  have  punctured  several  grapes 
in  each  of  a  hundred  clusters  and  yet  betray  to  the  microscope  no 
sign  of  its  vicious  habit.  On  the  other  hand,  a  bird  may  be  con- 
demned as  injurious  because  it  is  found  to  have  eaten  berries  or  grain, 
although,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  has  taken  the  berries  from  wild  plants 
and  gleaned  the  grain  after  harvest.  Then,  too,  the  material  exam- 
ined at  the  Department  is  not  usually  accompanied  by  notes  of  the 
available  supply  of  fruits,  seeds,  and  insects  present  at  the  places 
where  the  birds  were  collected.  Such  information  would  be  a  sig- 
nificant supplement  to  the  results  of  stomach  examination.  The  faults 
of  a  fruit-eating  bird  might  be  condoned  if  it  were  found  to  rob  the 
garden  and  orchard  only  when  tin1  thicket  and  pasture  were  barren. 
And  the  value  of  birds  as  insect  destroyers  in  any  particular  locality 

9 


10  BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

can  be  understood  only  when  one  knows  just  what  crops  of  the  region 
are  infested,  and  the  identity  and  importance  of  the  pest  by  which 
each  is  chiefly  attacked;  for  only  then  can  one  learn  which  birds  .select 
the  worst  pests  and  destroy  them  in  the  largest  proportion. 

With  a  view  to  ascertaining  how  far  local  conditions  might  modify 
the  details  of  general  conclusions  based  on  data  from  widely  separated 
regions,  a  study  of  the  food  habits  of  the  birds  on  a  particular  farm 
was  undertaken.  From  July  30,  1895,  to  July  24:,  1902,  visits  were 
made  at  frequent  intervals  and  including  every  month  of  the  year 
except  January.  To  obtain  an  idea  of  the  available  food  supply,  the 
insects,  berries,  and  seeds  found  on  the  place  were  collected;  the  con- 
dition of  the  crops  and  the  insects  infesting  them  were  noted;  detailed 
observations  of  the  birds'  food  habits  were  made  in  the  held,  and  the 
stomachs  of  698  birds  were  collected  and  examined,  53  being  those  of 
English  sparrows  and  the  remainder  (045)  those  of  native  species. 
One  of  the  most  serious  disadvantages  attending  the  work  is  that 
from  such  a  limited  area  one  can  not  examine  stomachs  enough  to  get 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  food  of  each  species,  and  is  often  com- 
pelled to  rely,  for  the  general  idea  of  the  food,  on  conclusions  drawn 
from  material  collected  elsewhere.  Still,  such  information,  supple- 
mented by  the  knowledge  gained  from  local  stomach  collections  and 
field  notes,  has  made  it  possible  in  most  cases  to  determine  whether  a 
given  species  is,  on  the  whole,  helpful  or  harmful  to  the  farm  in 
question. 

TOPOGRAPHY  OF  BRYAN  FARM. 

The  farm  chosen  for  this  investigation  is  the  Bryan  farm,  at  Mar- 
shall Hall,  Md.,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Potomac,  15  miles  from 
Washington,  directly  opposite  Mount  Vernon.  Va.  (see  PI.  I,  frontis- 
piece, fig.  2).  The  former  owner  of  the  farm.  Mr.  O.  N.  Bryan, 
was  an  enthusiastic  collector  of  birds,  plants,  and  Indian  imple- 
ments, and  was  known  to  many  Washington  scientists.  On  his  death. 
in  1892,  his  collections  were  given  to  the  National  Museum.  The 
farm  passed  to  his  nephew,  Mr.  George  R.  Bryan,  to  whom  the  author 
is  indebted  for  permission  to  conduct  these  investigations  on  the  place, 
and  for  cordial  cooperation  and  uniform  courtesy  throughout  their 
course.  The  farm  contains  about  230 acres,  of  which  150  is  cultivated 
and  most  of  the  remaining  80  covered  with  timber,  principally  hard- 
wood interspersed  with  pine.  The  arable  land,  forming  as  it  does 
nearly  two-thirds  of  the  farm,  is  all  in  one  tract  (see  map,  PI.  II). 
[ts  western  limit  is  a  straight  line  of  fence  separating  it  from  the  next 
farm;  its  northern  boundary,  almost  twice  as  long,  is  the  nearly 
straight  shore  of  the  Potomac  River,  which  here  flows  from  east  to 
wot.  A  small  hay,  formed  by  an  indentation  of  the  river  shore  (PI. 
Ill,  fig.  1).  a  calamus  swamp.  200  ynvds  long  (PI.  VII,  rig.  1).  which 
drains  into   the   bay,  and  a   tract  of  woodland  (PI.  XVI,  rig.  2)  form 


TOPOGRAPHY    OF    BRYAN     FARM.  11 

the  eastern  and  southern  boundaries.  The  uncultivated  pari  of  the 
farm  consists  of  timber  tracts,  Level  except  about  the  swamp,  where 
the  land  rises  on  two  sides,  the  eastern  rise  forming  a  little  wooded 
hill  more  than  LOO  feet  above  the  river  (PL  VII,  fig.  2). 

The  cultivated  area  is  a  level,  alluvial  bench  extending  Sack  from 
the  river  a  half  mile  to.  foothills  (PL  III.  fig.  iy>.  It  La  divided  into 
live  approximately  equal  lots,  two  along  the  southern  or  woodland 
boundary  and  three  along  the  northern  01  river  boundary.  A  si  raighi 
line  of  fence  parallel  to  the  river  separates  the  three  river  lot-  from 
the  two  inland  lots.  The  river  tract  is  rectangular,  about  three  times 
as  long  as  broad,  and  extends  east — that  is.  up  river  several  hundred 
yards  farther  than  the  inland  tract.  A  bushy  draining1  ditch,  which 
will  he  designated  throughout  this  paper  by  the  local  name  Persimmon 
Branch,  stretches  lengthwise  through  the  middle  of  this  area  from  the 
calamus  swamp  to  the  lower  or  southwest  corner  of  the  farm,  where 
it  empties  into  the  river  by  a  swampy,  timbered  outlet.  Persimmon 
Branch  is  joined  not  far  from  its  river  mouth  l>v  a  tributary — locally 
known  as  Partridge  Branch — that  drains  the  western  inland  lot.  The 
other  inland  lot  has  no  ditch,  and  part  of  it  is  often  wet;  the  side 
toward  the  swamp  washes  badly  during  heavy  rains.  It  has  been 
found  convenient  to  designate  these  lots  by  number-,  the  three  along 
the  river  being  numbered  1,  2,  and  3  and  the  others  -t  and  5  (see  map. 
PL  II). 

The  farm  meets  the  river  in  a  precipitous,  tree-fringed  bluff  from 
20  to30feet  high, which  at  low  tide  has  a  strip  of  sandy  shore  (PI.  IV. 
tig.  1).  All  the  buildings  but  one  stand  at  intervals  on  a  road  running 
along  the  brink  of  the  bluff.  In  the  middle  of  the  river  front  of  lot  1 
are  the  house,  surrounded  by  a  yard  with  a  paling  fence  and  shaded  by 
great  locusts,  and  a  horse  barn  with  its  corn  house  (see  PI.  I.  frontis- 
piece, tig.  1).  In  lot  2,  touching  the  line  dividing  it  from  lot  1.  is  a 
cow  barn,  and  at  the  middle  of  lot  '2  is  a  negro  cabin.  A  storage  barn 
stands  several  hundred  yards  south  of  the  cabin,  at  the  northwest  cor- 
ner of  lot  4  (see  map,  PI.  II). 

The  staple  products  of  the  farm  are  corn,  wheat,  and  tobacco  in 
irregular  rotation  with  timothy,  which  furnishes  the  winter  supply  for 
some  half  dozen  cows  and  about  as  many  horses.  In  recent  years 
market  gardening  has  been  attempted  on  a  small  scale,  in  the  light. 
sandy  part  of  lot  3,  between  Persimmon  Branch  and  the  river.  It  i- 
seldom  that  even  two-thirdsof  the  five  lots  is  under  cultivation  at  once. 
Of  the  remaining  third  or  more.  5  to  L0  acres  is  usually  devoted  to 
timothy,  and  the  rest  IS  worn-out  mowing  Lands  and  weedy  old  corn- 
fields (PI.  V.  tig.  1).  Broom-sedge,  which  in  spring  makes  good  pas- 
turage but  later  is  refused  by  stock,  comes  into  these  cornfields  after 
the  first  year.  and.  in  time,  into  the  timothy  fields  (11.  XIV,  fig.  3). 
Of  the  cultivated  area,  as  much  as  30  acres  is  sometimes  devoted  to 
corn.     A  smaller  acreage  is  given  to  wheat,  and  still  less  to  tobacco 


12 


BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 


(PI.  VIII,  fig.  1).  which,  however,  ie  the  most  steady  in  price,  and 
during  good  years  the  most  profitable  crop.  Vegetables,  strawber- 
ries, pears,  grapes,  and  quinces  arc  grown  in  an  inclosed  kitchen 
garden  adjoining  the  dooryard  on  its  upper  side.  Beyond  is  a  hog  lot 
of  several  acres,  with  a  small  wooded  gully  leading  down  to  the  river 
and  affording  shade  to  the  dozen  or  more  hogs  that  range  there  (PI. 
IV,  fig.  2). 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  BIRDS. 

After  this  preliminary  account  of  the  topography  and  the  products 
of  the  farm  we  may  consider  the  birds  and  their  relation  to  the  crops. 
The  whole  farm  with  its  arable  land,  river  shore,  steep  bluff,  and  low 
calamus  swamp  bordered  on  one  side  by  the  high  hill  and  on  another 
by  the  extent  of  level  forest,  presents  conditions  so  varied  as  to  attract 
many  different  kinds  of  birds:  The  actual  distribution  of  the  various 
species  is  of  great  importance.  Other  things  being  equal,  those  that 
live  on  the  arable  land,  and  thus  have  the  best  opportunity  to  check 
the  work  of  injurious  plants  and  insects,  may  be  expected  to  do  the 
greatest  good,  while  such  as  frequent  only  the  swamp  or  the  remote 
woodland  have  little  effect  on  crops. 

BIRDS   THAT    FEED   IN    OPEN    FIEI/DS. 

Meadowlark. — The  meadowlark  (fig.  1)  is  a  good  example  of  species 


* 


.—Meadowlark. 

of  the  former  class.  It  was  found  breeding  in  all  the  lots,  usually  in  a 
timothy  field  or  an  old  weedy  cornfield  (PI.  A',  fig.  1).  and  was  present 
in  numbers  sufficient  to  do  much  good.  In  late  summer  flocks  of  20 
were  often  seen,  and  in  November  usually  more  than  twice  that  num- 
ber. These  birds  in  their  feeding  completely  covered  the  open  parts 
of  the  lots,  and  came  fearlessly  up  to  the  barns  and  foraged  within  a 
stone's  throw  of  the  house. 


Bull.  1  7,  Biological  Survey,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture. 


Plate  II. 


Marshall  Hall 
Wharf 


AT 

MARSHALL  HALL  JD. 


♦3 


TENCCS 

U  ♦♦♦♦ pine.  #$<f9*tfj 

^^999 OAK.  a     $  * 

/>$$$$$ WILLOW. 

fek«  l\c\.i\ LAUREL 

#-  W**  SWAMP  OR  MARSH. 
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I'mlk 


i      41? 


Map  of  Bryan  Farm,  where  the  Investigations  were  Carried  On. 


I>I-TKIIUTIo\    OF    BIRDS. 


]:; 


Grasshopper  Sparrow.— The  gra^hopper  sparrow  is  even  more  exclu- 
sively a  > > i i< I  of  the  open  land  than  the  meadowlark  for  it  seldoii 
flies  up  from  the  fields  to  perch  in  tree-.  During  t  be  period  of  <  >bse  r- 
vation  it  happened  t<>  breed  for  tin-  most  part  in  lot-  1.  2,  and  8, 
choosing  timothy  fields  or  pastures  (PI.  V.  fig.  _).  or  weedy,  briery 
cornfields.  It  was  often  seen  feeding  in  lot  ;,.  hut  was  seldom 
observed  in  lot  4.  probably  because  the  rotation  of  crops  in  that  lot  did 
not  happen  to  provide  favorable  grass  land. 

Bobwhite. — The  bobwhite— the  quail  of  the  North  and  the  partridge 
of  the  South— is  also  a  bird  of  theopen,  though  it  ha-  the  hain't  of  flying 
to  cover  when  alarmed.  Bobwhite-  were  frequently  found  in  COVeya 
of  a  dozen  or  more  in  lots  -1-  and  .">.  On  being  flushed  they  sought 
shelter  in  the  neighboring  oak  woods,  where  they  spent  much  time, 
especially  in  fall  and  winter.  In  summer  they  lived  chiefly  in  the  open 
lot-  of  the  farm,  where  they  nested.  From  the  time  that  corn  was 
3  feethigh  until  it  was  cut,  they  used  it  for  cover.  They  were  not 
as  closely  confined  to  grass  land  as  the  grasshopper  sparrows,  hut 
foraged  in  every  lot.  and  appeared  to  come  in  closer  contact  with  crops 
than  did  any  other  species  on  the  farm. 

Mourning  Dove. — Among  the  birds  of  the  first  class  may  also  be 
included  mourning  doves  (tig-.  2)  and  crows,  which,  though  not  ne-t- 


Fig.  2.— Mourning  dove.    (The  background  <>f  this  picture  is  typical  of  the  Bryan  farm.) 

ing  on  the  arable  land,  were  always  to  be  seen  feeding  there.  The 
doves  nested  in  small  pines  in  the  more  open  parts  of  the  adjacent 
woods.     A>  their  food  Is  weed  seed  and  waste  errain  cleaned  on  stubble- 


14  BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

fields,  they  avoided  fields  <>t*  timothy  and  broom-sedge  and  areas  under 
actual  cultivation  and  foraged  in  waste  corn  land  and  on  wheat  stub- 
ble, where,  for  a  time  after  harvest,  they  obtained  wheat  and.  later, 
abundant  seeds  <>t*  ragweed.  They  were  often  observed  in  lots  2  and 
3  feeding  on  the  seeds  of  oxalis,  spurge,  and  other  weeds  that  grew 
among  old  cornstalks,  and  in  fall  worked  among-  the  rank  weedy 
growths  that  overran  the  truck  land  between  Persimmon  Branch  and 
the  river:  hut  they  were  more  often  seen  in  lot  4,  which  was  near  the 
woods  where  they  nested,  and  which  furnished  them  wheat  stubble  or 
new  corn  stubble  with  their  favorite  pigeon-grass.  At  harvest  time 
and  later  the  flock  of  doves  numbered  a  score  or  more.  Their  feed- 
ing grounds  changed  from  time  to  time  according  to  the  rotation  of 
crops.  They  did  not  approach  the  buildings  with  as  much  confidence 
as  did  the  meadowlarks  and  the  bobwhites,  and  thus  lost  some  effec- 
tiveness as  weed-seed  destroyers. 

Crows. — Both  the  fish  crow  and  the  common  crow  occurred  on  the  farm. 
but  the  latter  species  was  much  the  more  abundant.  Crows  nested  in 
the  scrub  pines  (JPmua  vvrginiana)  which  grow  among  the  white  oaks 
and  red  oaks  bounding  lot  4.  and  bred  also  in  the  wood>  across  the 
calamus  swamp,  where,  in  addition  to  the  trees  just  mentioned,  there 
is  a  sprinkling  of  cedar,  sycamore,  and  holly.  Their  favorite  feeding 
grounds  in  spring  were  newly  plowed  fields  where  May-beetles  and 
cutworms  were  to  be  found.  Even  when  such  fields  were  close  to 
buildings  the  crows,  though  usually  shyer  than  the  doves,  watched  for 
opportunities  to  visit  them,  and  many  times  were  noticed  in  the  early 
morning  stalking  along  the  furrows,  sometimes  within  a  few  rods  of 
the  cabin,  cow  barn,  and  storage  barn.  As  they  did  not  often  enter 
the  timothy  fields,  which  were  tenanted  by  meadowlarks  and  grass- 
hopper sparrows,  and  as  these,  on  the  other  hand,  were  seldom  seen 
on  plowTed  land  and  among  the  hoed  crops  where  the  crows  constantly 
foraged,  the  work  of  the  latter  was,  in  a  measure,  complementary  to 
that  of  the  former. 

Blackbirds. — The  crow  blackbird,  although  it  did  not  nest  on  the 
farm,  was  a  frequent  visitor.  During  the  breeding  season  its  favorite 
haunt  was  the  cherry  trees  along  the  river  bluff,  but  in  spring  and  fall 
it  foraged  in  flocks  over  all  the  lots  of  the  farm.  Sometimes  with  this 
bird,  but  more  often  in  separate  Hocks,  the  rusty  grackle  visited  the 
farm  during  migration.  At  this  time  also,  the  cowbird, often  in  large 
flocks,  appeared  in  the  open  fields  and  helped  to  reduce  the  weed-seed 
harvest;  but  during  the  breeding  season  the  species  was  limited  to  sex- 
end  pairs,  which  were  generally  to  be  seen  walking  about  the  pastures 
at  the  heels  of  the  stock. 

Other  birds.—  The  robin,  though  not  breeding  at  Marshall  Hall,  was 
abundant  in  spring  and  fall,  and  might  be  found  foraging  out  in  the 
center- of  the  largest  fields.     The  goldfinch  showed  the  same  fondness 


DISTRIBUTION    OF    BIBD6.  1  ' 

for  the  open  and  was  often  observed  feeding  far  afield  in  flock 
from  LOO  to  300.  <  H  the  birds  of  the  open,  that  fed  far  out  in  all  the 
five  lots  and  did  not  depend  on  adjacent  cover,  there  remain  but  two 
to  be  mentioned,  th<-  vesper  sparrow  and  the  savanna  sparrow,  which 
visited  the  farm  only  during  migration,  but  helped,  nevertheless,  in 
the  valuable  work  of  destroying  weed  seeds. 

BIRDS   THAT    DEFEND   «  >\    COVER. 

Cover  furnished  by  farm. — Other  species,  mainly  sparrows,  though 
occurring  on  the  arable  area,  fed  iess  generally  out  in  the  centers 
of  the  fields,  and  depended  on  protecting  cover.  This  was  afforded  in 
part  by  an  osage  orange  hedge  which  bounds  three  sides  of  lot  'i.  and 
l>v  blackberry  bushes  and  cedar  and  sassafras  trees  along  fence  rows. 
Excellent  cover  was  furnished,  also,  by  a  narrow  belt  of  locusts,  cedars, 
and  cultivated  cherry  tree-  along  the  edge  of  the  river  bluff,  and  by 
a  tangle  of  blackberry,  honeysuckle,  smilax,  wild  grape,  bittersweet, 
and  trumpet  creeper  that  grow-  under  the  trees  and  in  many  places 
covers  the  face  of  the  bluff  (PL  VI.  tig.  1 1.  Other  good  cover,  nesting 
sites,  and  feeding  ground-  are  afforded  by  the  tree- and  bushes  around 
the  house,  by  the  forested  gully  of  the  hog  lot  (PI.  IV.  tig.  2),  and  by 
the  timbered  outlet-  and  bushy  upper  courses  of  Persimmon  Branch 
and  Partridge  Branch.     (The  course  of  Persimmon  Branch  near  the 

outlet   can    he  -ecu    in    PI.   XII.  tig.   '1.  I      To  the  thickets  Of   the  h> 

r<>w-  and  streams  i-  due  the  presence  on  the  arable  land  of  many 
specie-   that   would  not   live  on  unwatered  and  wholly  cleared   farm-. 

Field  Sparrow. — The  field  sparrow,  which  appears  so  often  in  the 
open  that  it  may  almost  he  grouped  with  the  preceding  da— .  i-  found. 
on  observation,  to  he  dependent  on  cover.  But  it  i-  a  bird  of  the 
broom-sedge  and  briers,  and  it-  presence  i-  not  conditional  on  the 
neighborhood  of  large  tree-,  water,  or  building-,  a-  i-  that  of  some 
other  sparrow-.  It-  nesting  sites  included  each  side  of  Persimmon 
Branch,  the  broom-sedge  and  dewberry  tangle  of  the  high  part  of  the 
hog  lot  (PI.  VI.  tig.  2),  and  the  crest  of  the  bluff  overlooking  the  swamp. 
After  the  young  were  fledged  small  flocks  of  two  or  more  families 
followed  the  branches,  hedgerow-,  brush  piles,  and  fence  row-  all 
about  the  arable  part  of  the  farm,  even  finding  their  way  along  a  rail 

fence  to  tobacco  seed  bed-  in  the  w 1-.     The  field  -parrow-  avoided 

timothy,  hut  foraged  far  out  in  weedy  old  cornfields  where  the  -talk- 
remained  standing,  and  when  new  corn  had  tasseled  they  fed  undei  it- 
shelter.  They  were  found  with  most  certainty,  however,  in  waste 
ground-  bearing  little  but  broom-sedge  and  briers. 

Chipping  Sparrow.-  The  chipping  -parrow.  the  field  sparrow's  con- 
gener,  in  conformity  t<>  it-  semidomestic  habit-,  nested  in  the  door 
yard,  the  kitchen  garden,  the  adjacent  orchard,  and  cedar  trees  near 
the  storage  barn,     h  wa-  characteristic  of  roadside  and  rail  fence  and 


16 


HIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 


foraged  in  cropped  pastures  and  among  hoed  crops.  Unlike  the  field 
sparrow,  it  sought  cover,  not  in  bushes,  but  in  trees  isolated  a^  in 
orchards.  On  account  of  these  habit-  its  work  is  more  or  less  com- 
plementary to  that  of  the  field  sparrow.  Neither  species  was  noticed 
feeding  to  any  important  extent  in  standing  timothy,  the  habitat  of 
the  grasshopper  sparrow,  but  they  both  destroyed  weed  seeds  and 
insects  over  a  large  part  of  the  farm,  even  out  in  the  center  of  lot  4 
far  from  cover.  In  August  and  September  they  fed  together  in  loose 
flocks  along  fence  rows.  At  this  time  there  were  nearly  a  hundred  of 
the  two  species,  the  chipping  sparrow  being  the  more  numerous. 

Song  Sparrow. — The  song  sparrow  (tig.  3)  is  a  bush  bird,  which, 
though  feeding  on  the  ground,  is  generally  too  cautious  to  venture  far 
afield.  It  is  essentially  a  bird  of  the  waterways,  and  bred  in  the 
undergrowth  along  Persimmon  Branch  and  the  river,  in  the  hog-lot 
gully,  and  about  the  calamus  swamp;  yet,  like  the  chipping  sparrow, 

it  came  with  confi- 
dence up  to  all  the 
buildings.  It  for- 
aged over  the  gar- 
den and  dooryard 
and  along  a  strip 
several  rods  wide 
extending  from  the 
house  to  the  mouth 
of  Persim m o n 
Branch.  In  feed- 
ing here  it  usually 
avoided  the  open 
parts  of  newly 
plowed  fields,  but 
ran  amid  corn, 
wheat,  tobacco, 
truck,  and  timothy,  and,  as  will  appear  later,  did  considerable  good  in 
this  way.  It  spent  much  time  along  the  river  shore,  however,  and 
thus  wasted  opportunities  for  protecting  crops.  In  summer  it  was 
less  abundant  than  the  chipping  sparrow  or  the  Held  sparrow,  but  after 
the  breeding  season  it  came  down  from  the  North  in  great  flocks  and 
did  good  work  among  weeds. 

Other  native  sparrows. — Fox  sparrows,  and  many  tree  sparrows, 
] uncos,  and  white-throated  sparrows  also  come  down  from  the  North 
in  the  fall.  The  fox  sparrows  are  cover-loving  birds,  and  frequented 
the  tangle  of  the  river  front  and  Persimmon  Branch,  seldom  venturing 
more  than  a  rod  into  the  iields.  The  whitethroats  usually  associate 
with  song  sparrows,  and  were  found  all  along  hedgerows  and  water- 
ways. The  tree  sparrows  associate  with  field  sparrows,  and  like  them 
preferred  broom-sedg-e  fields,  though  they,  too,  often  followed  the 


Fig.  3. — Song  sparrow. 


Bull.  1  7,  Biological  Survey,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agn. 


Plate  III. 


Fig.  1 .— Bay  and  Hill  Adjacent  to  Calamus  Swamp. 


Fig.  2. -Bryan  Farm  from  the  River,  Showing  Shore,  Bluff,  Alluvial  Plain,  and 

Forested  Hills. 


Bull.  17,  Biological  Survey,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture. 


Plate  IV. 


Fig.  1.— River  Bluff  in  Winter,  which  Shelters  Several 
Species  of  Native  Sparrows. 


Fig.  2.— Hog  Lot  Gully,  which  Furnishes  Shelter,  Shade, 
and  Food  for  Many  Birds. 


DI8TMBUTI0B    OF    WUDS.  1  7 

hedges  and  water  courses.  The  j uncos  are  an  independent  species, 
taking  refuge  in  Large  t  pees  as  well  as  in  bushes,  and  foraged  Ear  afield, 
even  in  bare  and  exposed  situations. 

English  Sparrow.  In  addition  to  the  native  sparrows,  the  English 
sparrow  occurred  on  the  farm.  Its  distribution  depended  solely  on 
suitable  nesting  holes  and  available  grain.  A  dozen  pairs  bred  in  the 
crannies  of  the  house,  in  an  old  dovecote  <>n  the  granary,  and  in  the 
dooryard  locusts.  At  harvest  time  the  flock  numbered  LOO  or  more. 
No  part  of  the  farm  was  too  remote  for  their  forays  if  it  yielded  them 
grain,  80  their  feeding  grounds  varied  with  the  rotation  of  crop-. 
They  were  often  to  be  seen,  also,  gleaning  amid  poultry  and  stock  at 
feeding  time,  and  stealing  into  the  corn  crib.  The  presence  of  this 
bird  had  affected  the  distribution  of  other  species,  particularly  such 
as  nest  in  cavities.  The  bluebird  had  been  driven  from  the  farm,  and 
many  of  the  house  wrens  that  formerly  bred  about  the  buildings  had 
had  to  seek  more  secluded  places.  A  few  pairs  of  wrens  continued, 
however,  to  nest  near  the  house  in  cavities  too  small  to  admit  the 
sparrow.  Others  lived  at  both  mouths  of  Persimmon  Branch  and  the 
lower  end  of  the  hog-lot  gully  (PI.  IV,  fig.  2). 

BIRDS   OF   LESS   LIMITED    DISTRIBUTION. 

Kingbird  and  Oriole. — About  a  dozen  pairs  of  kingbirds  and  orchard 
orioles  were  also  on  the  place.  Neighbors  at  nesting  time  and  often 
associates  in  their  feeding  range,  they  lived  together  in  fruit  tree-  by 
the  house,  and  were  also  noted  at  the  negro  cabin  and  on  the  -bote  by 
the  calamus  swamp. 

Wherever  a  kingbird's  nest  was  discovered,  a  nest  of  the  oriole  was 
sure  to  be  found  in  the  same  or  an  adjoining  tree.  It  seemed  odd  that 
such  a  tyrant  as  the  kingbird  should  tolerate  such  close  proximity. 
The  kingbirds  skimmed  over  all  the  five  lots  after  insects,  occasionally 
poising  on  weedstalks  and  often  perching  on  the  highest  trees  along 
the  river  bluff  and  the  hedgerows.  The  orioles,  though  not  infre- 
quently seen  along  fence  rows,  were  generally  confined  to  the  tree-  of 
the  river  front,  whence,  however,  they  flew  out  into  the  adjacent 
mowing  land  to  pick  up  insects  from  the  ground. 

Cedar  Bird.  —From  a  dozen  to  a  score  of  cedar  birds  also  frequented 
the  trees  along  the  river,  though  they  did  not  nest  on  the  farm,  and 
they  were  often  noticed  at  the  ends  of  Persimmon  Branch  and  in  the 
hog-lot  gully.  Their  distribution  appeared  to  depend  on  the  presence 
of  ripe  fruit,  such  as  mulberries,  cherries,  blackberries,  or  cedar 
berries. 

Catbird. — The  most  abundant  summer  bird  was  without  question  the 
catbird  (rig.  4).  Its  usual  habitat  was  practically  the  same  as  the  song 
sparrow's — that  is  to  say,  the  undergrowth  of  moist  places.  But  while  the 
7222— No.  17— ol> a 


18 


BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 


song  sparrow  preferred  thickets  of  blackberry,  elder,  and  alder. 
somewhat  open  t<»  the  sun,  the  catbird  chose  tangles  of  catbrier  deeply 
shaded  by  overspreading  trees.  It  was  therefore  numerous  in  the 
swampy,  forested  dells  at  the  extremities  of  Persimmon  Branch  (see 
map,  PL  II).  and   still    more  so    in   the  hog-lot  gully  (PL  IV,  fig.  2), 


where  it  found  attractive  food,  consisting  of  cherries,  mulberries, 
blackberries,  and  elderberries,  besides  May-flies,  which  were  abun- 
dant before  the  fruit  ripened.  Here,  in  one  morning,  fifteen  cat- 
birds were  seen.  Like  the  song  sparrow,  this  species  came  up  to  nest 
about  the  house.  One  pair  built  in  a  holly  by  the  gate,  another  near 
the  horse  tub,  and  two  pairs  in  the  garden.  All  these  families  fed 
among  the  vegetables  and  moved  about  under  the  apple  trees  and  in 
the  dooryard.  The  catbird  is  arboreal  to  the  extent  of  securing  prob- 
ably three-fourths  of  its  food  in  trees  or  bushes.  Because  of  this  fact, 
and  also  because  its  feeding  range  does  not  extend  out  into  fields,  it 
does  not  appear  to  have  a  close  relation  with  crops. 

Other  birds. — One  or  two  pairs  of  cardinal  grosbeaks  bred  on  the 
river  bluff,  but  more  were  noticed  in  the  edge  of  the  swamp  bordering 
the  arable  land.  They  built  chiefly  among  catbriers,  in  stunted  young 
scrub  pines,  and  in  the  tops  of  fallen  oaks.  Cardinals  were  also  seen 
along  the  wooded  parts  of  Persimmon  Branch,  and  may  have  bred 
there.  Two  pairs  of  yellow-breasted  chats  nested  (dose  to  crops,  one 
in  the. thick  undergrowth  of  Persimmon  Branch  and  the  other  in  a 
similar  shaded  thicket  at  the  northeast  corner  of  lot  4.  Indigo  birds 
and  brown  thrashers  nested  near  the  storage  barn,  phoebes  in  the  cow 
barn,  and  swifts  in  the  chimneys  of  the  house. 


DI8TBIBUTION    OF    BIRDS.  19 

I'.Ii;i>-   I  >F   VARIED    DMH  RIB1   I  [ON. 

The  distribution  of  the  birds  remaining  to  be  mentioned  can  not 
so  definitely  Limited.  Various  gulls  and  duck-  were  present  in  the 
river  during  the  colder  months.  The  least  bittern,  great  blue  heron, 
little  bine  heron,  little  green  heron,  and  sora  rail  occurred  in  the  cala- 
mus swamp  (PI.  VII,  fig.  L),  and  the  little  green  heron  was  also  noted 
feeding  all  along  the  river  (PL  III.  fig.  2).  Woodcock  were  found 
on  Persimmon  Branch  near  the  river,  and  were  observed  at  dusk 
flying  into  adjacent  cornfields.  Sandpipers,  usually  the  spotted,  but 
now  and  then  the  solitary,  were  to  be  seeq,  particularly  at  the  mouth > 
of  the  hog-lot  gully,  teetering  along  the  beach  in  twos  and  three-. 

Various  species  of  hawk-,  including  the  broad-winged,  rod-tailed. 
red-shouldered,  marsh,  Cooper,   sharpshinned,  and  sparrow  hawks. 

curred  on  the  farm.  One  pair  of  Cooper  hawk-  bred  in  the  scrub 
pine-  on  the  edge  of  lot  4.  Broad-winged  and  red-shouldered  hawks 
built  on  the  slope  of  the  wooded  hill  that  rises  from  the  calamus 
swamp  (PL  VII,  fig.  2).  Eagles  .frequently  came  over  from  Virginia, 
and  one  established  a  post  in  a  large  tree  on  the  bluff  just  below  the 
negro  cabin.  Ospreys  sometimes  passed  tin-  farm  on  fishing  trips  up 
and  down  the  river.  Several  pairs  of  great  horned  owls  and  -ere. -eh 
owls  built  in  the  woods  above  the  calamus  -warn})  (PL  VII,  fig.  2). 
Turkey  buzzards  .-oared  over  the  fields  and  often  fed  along  the  shore: 
some  nested  beyond  the  farm  in  the  chestnut  -tump-  of  a  deep. 
narrow  gully. 

Kingfishers,  which  bred  in  the  sandy  face  of  the  bluff  beyond  the 
farm,  fished  in  the  calamus  swamp  and  along  the  river  front.  The 
downy  woodpecker  foraged  in  all  the  fruit  tree-  and  nested  in  the 
hog-lot  gully,  at  the  river  mouth  of  Persimmon  Branch  (see  map, 
PI.  II).  and  al-o  in  some  of  the  most  remote  woodland.  Flickers, 
though  breeding  at  Mar-hall  Hall,  were  most  numerous  in  spring 
and  fall,  when  they  frequently  fed  in  open  Held-  with  robins.  Sap- 
suckers  were  Been  in  various  places  during  the  colder  half  of  the 
year,  very  often  in  the  apple  orchard  by  the  kitchen  garden.  The 
red-headed    woodpecker  al-o  occurred,    but    it-  distribution  was  very 

erratic.  Night-hawks  sometimes  appeared  in  the  late  afternoon, 
circling  after  insects,  and  whip-poor-wills  were  frequently  heard, 
though  seldom    seen.     Hummingbirds  were  -ecu    in   Various   pia 

about  the  farm  dipping  into  the  dowers  of  the  trumpet  creeper, 
persimmon,  and  tobacco.  One  nest  was  discovered  <>n  a  horizontal 
bough  on  a  red  oak  beside  Persimmon  Branch.  Another  was  found 
fastened  to  the  limb  of  a  box  elder  in  front  of  the  farmhouse. 

Two  pairs  of  wood  pewees  nested  in  the  kitchen  garden  and  the 
dooryard,  and  more  than  a  dozen  pair-  bred  in  the  rec<  ssefl  ^\  the 
woods.     The   great  crested  flycatcher   habitually  stayed  in  solitary 


20  BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

retreats  and  journeyed  over  to  the  bog-lot  gully,  the  river  front,  and 
even  the  dooryard.  Several  pairs  of  blue  jays  and  scarlet  tanagers  fre- 
quented the  oaks  bordering  lot  4.  Two  or  three  pairs  of  red-winged 
blackbirds,  that  sometimes  fed  on  the  cultivated  land,  nested  in  the 
calamus  swamp  (PI.  VII,  fig.  1).  Purple  finches  were  found  during 
the  colder  half  of  the  year  along  the  brink  o\'  the  bluff.  Barn  swallows 
nested  in  the  cow  harn  one  summer,  but  the  individuals  usually  seen 
were  visitors  from  other  farms,  as  were  also  the  purple  martin-,  white- 
bellied  swallows,  and  rough-winged  swallows,  that  mingled  with  the 
ham  swallows,  often  in  a  Hock  of  a  hundred,  and  skimmed  over  the 
field  in  pursuit  of  Insects.    • 

The  red-eyed  vireo,  in  summer  one  of  the  most  abundant  species  on 
the  farm,  built  in  trees  everywhere,  hut  was  most  numerous  in  decid- 
uous  woodland.  Having  strictly  arboreal  habits,  it  did  not  feed  among 
tield  crops,  hut  protected  the  foliage  of  orchard,  shade  trees,  and  wood-. 
The  white-eyed  vireo  was  found  in  moist  places  outside  of  the  culti- 
vated land  and  also  in  the  woodland  about  the  calamus  swamp.  The 
last-named  locality  sheltered  large  numbers  of  migrating  warblers  in 
spring  and  fall.  Here  at  these  seasons  could  be  noted  the  black- 
throated  blue  warbler,  myrtle  warbler,  magnolia  warbler,  black-poll 
warbler,  black-throated  green  warbler,  pine  warbler,  prairie  warbler, 
oven-bird,  the  two  specie-  of  water-thrushes,  Wilson's  blackcap,  and  the 
Canadian  warbler.  The  yellow  warbler  built  near  the  house  and  also 
in  willow  swam})  land  back  from  the  arable  area.  The  redstart  nested 
on  the  west  side  of  the  swamp.  The  Maryland  yellow-throat,  rivaling 
the  song  sparrowr  in  numbers,  frequented  all  the  moist,  bushy  regions, 
but  often  came  out  into  the  live  lots  to  feed  along  the  fence  rows,  and 
was  sometime-  seen  -currying  among  the  leaves  of  tobacco.  Haifa 
dozen  or  more  pair-  of  long-billed  marsh  wren-  had  nest-  ",n  the  swamp 
(PI.  VII,  tig.  1).  Carolina  chickadees  nested  near  the  swamp  and  in 
the  piu  oaks  of  the  woods  near  lots  4  and  5,  and  several  were  seen  in 
the  orchard  and  the  hog-lot  gully.  Tufted  titmice  were  occasionally 
observed  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  swamp  and  the  same  wood-. 
Kinglet-  of  both  species  occurred  in  the  apple  orchard-.  The  hermit 
thrush,  olive-backed  thrush,  gray-cheeked  thrush,  and  Wilson's  thrush 
occurred  during  migration  in  the  oak-  bordering  lot  -1.  The  wood 
thiu-h  was  fount]  breeding  in  the  foresl  east  of  the  calamus  swamp 
(PI.  VII.  tig.  2),  hut  never  came  out  into  the  garden  or  house  yard,  as 
it  often  doe-  in  more  northern  States. 

TOPOGRAPHY  OF  HUNGERFORD  FARM. 

In  order  to  study  the  effect  of  birds  on  a  greater  variety  of  crops 

than  were  grown  on  the  Bryan  farm  alone,  the  next  two  farms,  namely, 
the  Marshall  farm  and  the  Hunfferford  farm,  which  were  conveniently 
situated  for  the  purpose  and  were  kindly  placed  at   my  service  by  the 


IN8E<  T    FOOD.  2  1 

owners,  were  visited  from  time  to  time.  A  brief  description  of  the 
latter,  on  which  most  of  these  subsidiary  observations  were  made,  is 
necessary  for  a  dearer  understanding  of  the  results  here  se(  forth.  It 
is  primarily  devoted  to  truck  and  fruit,  though  it  produces  also  \\  heat. 
corn,  and  tobacco.  A  hedgerow  of  lame  cedars  cut-  it  int<>  two  pint-, 
each  part  with  its  house  and  barn.  The  upper  -ret ion  has  a  swamp 
fed  by  a  bushy  brook  and  emptying  into  the  river,  while  the  lower 
section  is  drained  by  two  ditches  merging  into  one  at  their  river  out- 
let. There  i-  also  a  timbered  dell,  shallow  and  swampy,  which  extends 
from  the  river  hack  into  the  cultivated  fields,  and  which  harbored  a 
colony  of  breeding  crow  blackbirds,  more  than  a  dozen  catbirds,  several 
woodcock,  and  at  least  two  pair-  of  cardinals.  Along  the  Rungerford 
farm  the  blurt*  is  seldom  half  so  high  as  on  the  Bryan  farm,  and  in 
many  places  is  entirely  wanting. 

II.— INSECT  FOOD. 

In  studying  data  derived  from  the  examination  of  stomachs  collected 
over  areas  wideh  diverse  in  latitude  and  longitude  the  investigator 
seldom  knows  exactly  what  kinds  of  insects  were  available  for  selec- 
tion at  the  time  the  food  in  the  stomachs  was  obtained,  how  abundant 
relatively  the  various  species  of  insects  were,  and  to  what  extent,  if 
any.  they  were  injuring  crops.  He  is  therefore  in  some  danger  of 
misinterpreting  results,  especially  when  he  attempts  to  show  how  the 
birds' insectivorous  habits  relate  to  agriculture  in  specific  cases.  He 
may.  for  instance,  commend  birds  for  having  fed  on  a  certain  pest, 
when,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  they  had  found  no  other  food  available,  or  he 
may  condemn  them  for  not  having  eaten  injurious  insects  when  the 
district  from  which  they  came  happened  to  be  free  from  such  plagues. 
For  this  reason,  therefore,  a  careful  study  was  made  of  the  relative 
and  absolute  abundance  of  the  different  kinds  of  insects  on  the  farm 
at  each  visit.  It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  in  recording  observa- 
tions of  this  kind  the  calendar  date  should  be  supplemented  by  the 
biological  date,  which  shows  the  advancement  of  the  season  and  is  best 
determined  by  the  condition  of  the  vegetation;  but  this  rule  has  not 
always  been  followed  in  the  present  report. 

CRANE-FLIES. 

The  most  interesting  visits  were,  naturally,  those  made  when  insect- 
were  most  numerous.  Crane-flies  appeared  every  year,  but  during 
L900  were  unusually  abundant.  The  farm  was  visited  on  April  22  of 
that  year  when  the  forests  were  bare  and  the  fields  brown.  Peach. 
plum,  and  pear  were  in  bloom,  but  the  apple  was  not  yet  out.  Crane- 
flies  were  seen  everywhere,  but  were  thickest  in  the  grass  land  of  lot 
1,  where  they  fairly  swarmed  on  the  ground  and  tlew  into  one's  eye-. 


22  BIBDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

nose  and  mouth.  No  birds  were  collected,  for  it  was  evident  that  all 
wcr<-  feeding  on  crane-flies,  which  formed  the  only  abundant  supply  of 
insect  food.  Several  species  of  sparrows,  including  song  sparrows, 
white-throated  sparrows,  and  chipping  sparrows,  were  observed  greed- 
ily eating  them.  A  pair  of  kingbirds  left  their  perch  on  an  apple-tree 
spray  every  now  and  then  to  snap  up  the  insects,  and  a  Maryland  yel- 
low-throat, several  meadowlarks,  .and  a  pair  of  bobwhites  feasted  on 
the  swarming  prey.  These  insects  fly  feebly  and  are  easily  caught; 
and  since  there  is  hardly  an  insectivorous  bird  that  is  not  known  to 
take  them,  it  seems  safe  to  conclude  that  when  they  are  abundant  they 
are  eaten  in  great  numbers.  Coming  as  they  do  in  the  spring,  when 
other  food  is  scarce,  they  are  a  boon  to  birds.  They  supply  both  the 
newly  arrived  species  and  those  that  are  about  to  journey  to  their 
northern  nesting-  grounds.  The  destruction  of  crane-flies  by  birds  is  a 
benefit  to  the  farmer,  as  they  are  injurious  to  grain  and  grass.  Their 
larv®,  repulsive,  leathery-looking  object-.  \'wd  underground,  largely 
on  roots.  Crane-flies  are  said  to  do  great  damage  in  Europe,  but  are 
much  less  important  in  this  country. 

MAY-FLIES. 

Of  all  the  insects  on  the  farm,  the  May-fly  (tig.  5),  during  the  period 
of  its  aerial  life,  is  undoubtedly  the  most  abundant  and  the  most  con- 
spicuous. The  respective  numbers  of  other  spe- 
cies fluctuate  greatly  from  year  to  year,  but  the 
myriads  of  this  plague  are  nearly  always  constant. 
Fortunately  the  life  of  the  adult  lasts  only  from  a 
few  hours  to  two  days.  As  a  water  nymph,  how- 
ever, the  insect  lives  from  one  to  three  years. 
When  the  locust  trees  are  dropping  their  1>1<»- 
soms,  usually  about  the  middle  of  May,  the 
nymphs  rise  to  the  surface  of  the  Potomac,  trans- 
/";•  Mil>'-nv  lln,m  form  into  adults,  and  flutter  to  the  shore.  The 
suddenness  with  which  they  appeal-  and  their  vex- 
atious numbers  may  be  understood  from  a  description  of  the4  conditions 
that  prevailed  at  Marshall  Hall  from  the  13th  to  the  loth  of  May.  L900. 
On  the  morning  of  the  L3th  not  a  May-fly  was  to  be  seen.  In  the  late 
afternoon  several  were  noticed  along  the  shore.  On  the  14th  many 
came  up  from  the  river  and  flew  around  the  house,  and  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  L5th  thousands  were  found  clinging  to  the  porch.  They 
soon  spread  all  over  the  farm.  or.  more  strictly  speaking,  were  blown 
over  it.  The  an-  was  full  of  them.  After  a  walk  of  a  hundred  yard- 
along  the  bluff  in  lot  .">.  I  found  67  clinging  to  me.  They  covered  the 
cedar  trees  beside  the  river,  turning  the  dark  green  (^!  the  foliage  to 
a  distinct  gray.  They  frightened  the  horses  SO  badly  by  alighting  on' 
them  that  plowing  was  suspended  for  several  days.  They  swarmed 
into  the  house  and  made  meal -times  almost  unendurable.    This  condition 


[N8E<  1    Food. 

seldom  lasts  more  than  :i  week  or  two.  Soon  the  dead  bodies  of  the 
short-lived  creatures  are  cast  up  all  along  the  shore  in  windrows  sei  eral 
inches  high,  and  then  there  Is  a  marked  decrease  in  their  abundance 
about  the  farm.  They  occur,  however,  though  in  constantly  dimin- 
ishing DUmbers,  throughout  dune  and  even  into  duly. 

At  their  flood  tide  they  furnish  most  of  the  food  of  practically  all 
the  birds  of  the  farm,  even  including  barnyard  fowls.  They  air  90ft, 
entirely  edible,  and  highly  nutritious,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
females  are  heavy  with  eggs.  Any  bird,  no  matter  how  clumsy,  can 
capture  them  as  they  make  their  aimless,  blundering  flights,  or  fall 
helplessly  from  contact  with  object-  in  their  way.  It  was  interesting 
0  the  methods  by  which  different  birds  procured  them.  A  green 
heron,  three  -potted  sandpipers,  several  song  sparrows,  and  a  dozen 
crow  blackbirds  frequented  the  beach,  picking  up  insecl  after  insect. 
Woodpeckers  and  at  times  Carolina  chickadee-  snapped  them  up  from 
tree  trunks  in  the  apple  orchard  or  the  hog-lot  gully.  The  parula 
warbler,  the  yellow  warbler,  and  one  or  two  other  warblers,  with  the 
white-eyed  vireo  and  the  red-eyed  vireo.  gathered  them  from  among 
leafy  boughs.  The  redstart  darted  out  and  caught  it-  -hare  of  the 
quarry  on  the  wkig.  Some  species  fed  in  a  lazy,  sated  manner.  Thus 
in  the  top  of  a  cedar  that  was  gray  with  the  insects,  five  crow-  -at  for 
half  an  hour  slowly  choking  them  down.  A  pair  of  red- winged  black- 
birds and  several  blackpoll  warblers  later  visited  the  same  tree  to  feed. 
Such  flycatchers  as  the  phcebe,  the  wood  pewee,  the  kingbird,  and  the 
great  crested  flycatcher  stood  nervously  at  their  -entry  posts,  every 
now  and  then  rising  to  hover  and  snap  up  a  victim.  The  kingbird 
had  another,  more  interesting  method  of  feeding.  Perched  in  the  dead 
top  of  a  tree,  it  would  make  a  dash  into  one  of  the  lateral  bough-  of 
an  adjacent  locust  that  was  so  heavily  laden  with  May-flies  that  the  tips 
of  the  branchlets  drooped  under  the  weight,  dislodge  hundreds  of 
the  insects,  snap  up  several  as  they  fluttered  out.  and  then  return  to 
it-  perch.  Over  and  over  it  played  this  game,  apparently  with  keen 
zest.  1  watched  a  similar,  though  less  adroit,  performance  by  a 
female  catbird  that  -pent  a  long  time  gathering  food  for  her  young 
from  a  maple  in  the  dooryard.  Every  few  minute-  -he  would  take  a 
short  flight  and  drop  on  the  end  of  a  -lender  bough:  then  from  tin' 
score.-  of  May-flies  shaken  out  she  would,  by  clumsy  efforts,  generally 
manage  to  catch  one.  A  hen  with  her  brood  of  eleven  chick-  derived 
the  chief  profit  from  the  bird*-  industry,  and  remained  for  two  hour- 
gobbling  up  the  manna  that  rained  from  the  maple  tree.  English 
sparrows  also  -hook  the  insects  from  the  branches  and  captured  them 
on  the  wing.  A.  flock  of  a  dozen  cedar  birds  pursued  them  through 
the  air.  appearing  to  swim  rather  than  fly,  and  reminding  one  of  a 
lazy  suntish  dawdling  after  a  baited  hook.  At  other  time-,  possibly 
when  they  were  more  hungry,  they  caught   their  prey  with  an  alert- 


24 


BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 


ness  thai   would  have  beeD  creditable  in  a  flycatcher.     Swifts  and  a 

variety  of  -wallow-,  including  the  ti«  e  -wallow,  the  bank  swallow,  the 
rough-winged  -wallow,  the  barn  -wallow,  and  the  purple  martin, 
appeared  to  feed  on  May -flies  exclusively.  Whenever  a  kingbird 
dashed  into  a  tree  these  birds  would  fly  by  the  dozen  to  the  spot  and 
seize  the  fluttering,  helpless  insects  that  had  been  dislodged.  When, 
however,  a  gusl  of  wind  drove  the  May-flies  before  it.  the  swallows 
were  -ecu  to  best  advantage  a>  they  circled  gracefully  after  them. 

Field  observations  and  the  examination  of  stomachs  proved  that  40 
species  had  eaten  May-flies,  but  this  number  probably  represents  only 
about  half  the  truth.  Not  many  birds  were  collected  at  the  height  of 
the  insects'  abundance,  because  even  casual  observation  showed  that 
practically  all  the  birds  of  the  farm,  not  only  the  highly  insectivorous 
species,  but  also  the  species  chiefly  frugivorous  or  granivorous,  turned 
to  them  for  food.     The  following  is  the  list  obtained: 


List  of  birds  known  to  have  fed  on  May-flies. 


Green  heron. 

Woodcock. 

Spotted  sandpiper. 

Yellow-billed  cuckoo. 

Black-billed  cuckoo. 

Downy  woodpecker. 

Chimney  swift. 

Kingbird. 

Great  crested  flycatcher. 

Phcebe. 

Wood  pewee. 

Blue  jay. 

Common  crow. 

Bobolink. 


Bed-winged  blackbird. 
Orchard  oriole. 
Crow  blackird. 
English  sparrow. 
Field  sparrow. 
Cardinal. 
Purple  martin. 
Barn  swallow. 
White-1  lellied  swallow. 
Bank  swallow. 
Rough-winged  swallow 
Cedar  bird. 
Red-eyed  vireo. 
Panda  warbler. 


Yellow  warbler. 
Black-poll  warbler. 
Water-thrush. 
Maryland  yellow-thr. »at. 
Yellow-breasted  chat. 
Wilson  warbler. 
Redstart 
Catbird. 
House  wren. 
Carolina  chickadee. 
Blue-gray  gnatcatcher. 
Gray-cheeked  thrush. 


Though  May-flies  furnish  valuable  food  for  fish  and  do  no  harm  to 
crops,  they  are  of  course  a  plague  when  the}T  become  so  numerous. 
Broadly  considered,  however,  their  consumption  by  birds  is  a  misfor- 
tune, for  it  suspends  or  prevents  the  destruction  of  really  injurious 
insects.  At  no  other  time  do  all  birds  eat  so  large  a  proportion  of 
insect  food,  for  at  no  other  time  do  they  find  such  a  scarcity  of  other 
suitable  food,  and  if  their  attention  were  not  diverted  by  this  easy  and 
palatable  prey  they  might  be  expected  to  do  the  best  of  their  Avork 
against  insect  pests.  This  unfavorable  condition  is,  however,  strictly 
local,  Lasts  only  a  few  days,  and  would  not  occur  on  areas  remote  from 
large  bodies  of  fresh  water  when1  the 'May-fly  breeds. 

INFESTED  CROPS. 

At  each  vi>it  the  crops  were  inspected  for  posts,  and  whenever  any 
crop  had  suffered  appreciably  it  was  regularly  watched  to  see  whether 

birds  came   to    its    relief.       Stomachs    were  collected  also  around   the 
infested  fields. 


Bull.  17,  Biological  Survey,  U.  S   Dept.  of  Agriculture. 


Plate  V. 


Fig.  1.— Weedy  Old  Cornfield,  Lot  3. 


Fig.  2.— Pasture,  Lot 


Bull.  17,  Biological  Survey,  U.  S 


Plate  VI. 


Fig.  1.— Trumpet  Creeper  and  Other  Vines  of  River  Bluff. 


Fig.  2.— Broom-Sedge  and  Briers  in  Hog  Lot. 


[N8ECT    FOOD.  25 

White  potatoes.  The  potato  beetle  (Doryphora  10-lineata)  caused 
every  year  considerable  injury  to  white  potatoes.  During  May, 
it  had  destroyed  at  least  half  of  the  foliage  of  several  acres  of  potatoes 
about  6  inches  high  in  lot  :;.  The  field  was  watched  for  an  hour  or 
two  each  day  for  several  days,  but  only  three  birds  were  seen  in  the 
patch— a  pair  of  bo.bwhites,  which  are  noted  potato-beetle  eaters, 
sometimes  consuming  from  50  to  l""  at  a  single  meal,  and  a  cardinal, 
which  is  a  near  relative  of  the  rose-breasted  grosbeak,  probably  the 
the  most  valuable  destroyer  of  the  pest.  Unfortunately  neither  spe- 
cies could  be  either  observed  feeding  in  the  patch  or  subsequently  col- 
1.  Other  birds  were  very  abundant  along  Persimmon  Branch 
and  the  river  front,  but  appeared  to  manifest  n<>  interest  in  potato 
beetles.  From  .May  28  to  May  :'»<».  1mm;.  the  potatoes  in  the  kitchen 
garden,  though  in  fair  foliage,  had  from  several  to  a  do/en  hectic-  on 
each  plant.  Birds  were  about  the  garden  all  the  time.  Forty  of 
them,  principally  catbirds,  vireos,  house  wren-,  chipping  sparrows, 
summer  warblers,  orchard  orioles,  and  flycatcher-  were  collected,  hut 
none  had  eaten  the  beetles.  On  the  L6th  of  June,  1901,  a  large  patch 
of  potatoes  by  the  negro  cabin  in  lot  2  was  infested.  Above  it  circled 
a  -core  of  swifts  and  swallow-,  mainly  barn  and  bank  -wallow.-,  with  a 
few  purple  martins.  They  did  not  touch  the  beetles,  but  caught  caddis- 
flies,  which  were  numerous  over  the  patch. 

The  caddis-fly,  very  abundant  and  regarded  by  birds  as  a  choice  mor- 
sel, may.  like  the  May-fly,  distract  their  attention  from  other  insects. 
It  usually  appears  about  the  last  of  May  or  the  first  of  .June,  and  it  i- 
greedily  eaten  by  many  specie-,  especially  by  arboreal  and  aerial 
feeders  It  is  a  harmless  insect,  whose  larvae  Lead  an  aquatic  exist- 
ence. It,  too.  like  the  May-fly.  would  be  excessively  abundant  only 
near  large  rivers  or  lake-. 

String  beans. — At  a  time  when  potatoes  were  suffering  in  the 
kitchen  garden  (May  28-30,  L896),a  dozen  row-  of  string  beans  beside 
i  them  were  ravaged  by  thousands  of  bean  flea-beetles  ( Cerotoma  tri- 
f>ir<<it<i).  but  none  of  the  40  birds  collected  had  preyed  on  them,  a  fact 
possibly  due  to  the  presence  of  caddis-flic-.  Another  uprising  of 
these  beetles  was  observed  May  17-20,  1899,  but  then  May-flies  were 
abundant  enough  to  engross  the  birds'  attention.  This  beetle  i-  sim- 
ilar, however,  to  species  that  are  eaten  by  many  kind-  of  birds,  and. 
under  other  circumstances,  might  perhaps  have  been  destroyed  in 
large  numbers. 

Sweet  potatoes.  Two  tortoise  beetles  injure  sweet  potatoes  I  PI.  VIII, 
fig  2)  at  Marshal]  Hall.  The  more  common  one  (Ccptocycla  Iricolor) 
has  the  power  to  change  it-  color,  and  at  its  brightest  look-  like  a 
drop  of  molten  gold,  from  which  ii  i-  generally  known  a-  the 
bug."  During  dune.  1899,  it  wa-  especially  abundant  On  the  Mar- 
shall Hall  farm,  near  a  -mall   plot  of  sweet    potatoes  that  it  wa-  injur- 


26"  BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

ing,  i;<>  birds,  principally  kingbirds,  wrens,  and  chipping  sparrows 
were  collected.  None  of  them  had  molested  it.  On  the  Bryan  farm. 
in  lot  3,  it  was  so  abundant  that  it  killed  every  plant  in  a  patch  of  sev- 
eral acres.  The  lot  was  watched  for  an  hour  or  two  for  three  days,  but 
no  birds  were  seen  coming  to  the  relief  of  the  dying  plants.  On  the 
Hungerford  farm.  '2±  birds,  largely  wrens,  barn  swallows,  and  cat- 
birds, were  collected  near  infested  plots,  and  one  bird,  a  catbird,  was 
found  to  have  eaten  a  tortoise  beetle.  This  fact  appears  to  show  that 
the  insect  is  not  unpalatable  to  catbirds,  which  might  therefore  have 
given  some  help  to  the  potatoes  if  cherries  had  not  been  so  plentiful. 

Cabbages. — Three  pests  attacked  cabbages — the  wavy-striped  flea- 
beetle,  the  common  cabbage  worm,  and  the  harlequin  cabbage  bug. 
During  the  middle  of  June.  1899,  the  beetle  was  found  in  numbers 
varying  from  a  dozen  to  a  score  on  each  plant  of  a  cabbage  patch  on 
the  Hungerford  place,  near  the  dell  where  the  crow  blackbirds  breed. 
No  birds  were  observed  among  the  cabbages.  Ten  catbirds  were  col- 
lected in  the  dell,  but  they  had  fed  mostly  on  May-flies.  If  these 
tempting  insects  had  not  been  present,  and  if  birds  had  come  into 
the  patch,  doubtless  they  would  have  eaten  the  beetle,  for  it  is  closely 
allied  to  other  forms  on  the  farm  that  are  eaten  with  avidity.  The 
cabbage  worm  (Pieris  rapas)  did  considerable  damage  during  .June 
and  July  of  1896  and  1899  in  the  Bryan  kitchen  garden.  From  six 
to  a  dozen  worms  could  be  found  on  every  cabbage.  A  few  stomachs 
of  catbirds,  chipping  sparrows,  and  other  species  numerous  around 
the  garden  were  collected,  but  none  contained  the  worms.  The  patch 
was  carefully  watched  for  five  days.  Song  sparrows,  catbirds,  and 
chipping  sparrows  frequently  hopped  among  the  cabbages,  but  were 
not  seen  to  eat  the  worms.  This  was  surprising  in  the  case  of  the 
chipping  sparrow,  for  it  is  known  to  hop  up  into  cabbage  plants  and 
extract  the  larva'.  In  one  instance  the  kingbird  fed  on  the  butterfly 
of  the  cabbage  worm..  The  harlequin  cabbage  bug  occurred  only  once 
in  injurious  numbers,  and  then  on  the  Marshall  farm.  From  20  to  50 
bugs  could  be  counted  on  each  plant.  Several  field  sparrows  and  grass- 
hopper sparrows,  the  only  species  near  the  patch,  were  collected,  but 
had  not  taken  the  bugs.  Other  observations  have  shown  that  birds  do 
not  like  these  insect^  and  consequently  can  not  be  depended  on  to 
destroy  them. 

Lima  beans.  During  the  last  week  of  June,  L899,  the  L2-spotted 
cucumber  beetle  (Diabrotica  W.-jpuvnctata)  was  very  abundant  on  lima 
beans,  though  not  injuring  them  seriously.  Twenty  birds  were  col- 
lected close  by,  half  of  them  chipping  sparrows  and  the  others  king- 
birds, house  wrens,  and  goldfinches.  None  had  eaten  the  beetles. 
The  bobwhite  and  the  white-eyed  vireo,  which  feed  on  them,  were  not 
at  hand. 


rirsEOT  food.  Vi 

i'eas. — Next  to  the  beans  was  a  patch  of  peas  bo  ravaged  by  tin-  pea 
plant-louse  that  the  crop  was  a  total  loss.  Only  one  of  the  20  birds 
had  eaten  it  a  chipping  sparrow.  It  was  somewhat  surprising  to  find 
even  one,  for  the  various  species  of  plant-lice  arc  seldom  utilized  by 
birds  for  food,  but  later  it  was  learned  that  the  chipping  sparrow  had 
elsewhere  been  found  preying  on  the  pea  plant-louse.  This  insect  has 
only  recently  become  known  to  science.  It  suddenly  made  it-  appear- 
ance alone-  the  Atlantic  coast  and  occasioned  a  loss  of  $3,000,000  in 
the  first  season. a 

Melons.  —Melons  at  times  suffered  badly  from  insects.  In  lot  4,  not 
far  from  the  woods,  a  patch  of  watermelons  in  the  critical  stage  of 
growth,  when  the  first  leaf  had  appeared  between  the  thick,  nutritious 
cotyledons,  was  ravaged  by  three  species  ^f  leaf-beetles  Diabrotica 
J 2-punctata,  J),  vittata,  and  Systena  dongata*  There  were  from  sis 
to  a  dozen  he. -tic-  on  each  plant,  and  they  ate  so  many  of  tin'  cotyle- 
don- that  practically  the  whole  piece  had  to  he  replanted.  When  they 
were  most  abundant  the  patch  was  watched  for  several  hours  on  June 
15,  L899,  and  again  on  June  16,  but  no  birds  came  to  its  aid.  Birds 
are  known  to  eat  these  three  insects  at  time-,  but  the  remoteness  of 
the  melon  field  from  water  courses,  hedgerows,  and  other  cover 
attractive  to  the  most  abundant  species  may  explain  their  failure  to  do 
so  in  this  case.  At  the  same  date  (June  15,  L899)  Diabrotica  vittata 
was  found  on  canteloupes  in  blossom  on  the  Hungerford  farm,  but 
although  there  were  from  L2to20  insect-  on  each  plant,  they  appeared 
to  be  doing  little  harm.  The  patch  was  observed  for  an  hour  in  the 
late  afternoon,  and  three  field  sparrow-,  the  only  birds  near  it.  were 
:  collected,  but  none  of  these  insects  were  found  in  their  stomachs. 

Tobacco. — During  the  last  of  August  and  first  of  September.  I 
tobacco  was  grown  on  the   Bryan  farm  in  lot  2  near  the  negro  cabin 
i  (PI.  VIII.  fig.  1).  and  also  on  the  other  two  farm-.      The  entire  crop  was 


■'■nn    after  Howard;  loaned  by  Division  of  EntomoL 

damaged  by  worm-  (fig.  •;>  to  the  extent  of  50  percent  o\'  it-  value, 

in  spite  of  the  fact  that  men.  women,  and  children  turned  out  to  pick 
worms  every  day  for  two  week-.  When  the  pests  were  most  abund- 
ant (August  28  31)  an  effort  was  made  to  Learn  whether  birds  were 
joining  in  the  war  against  them.  Field  sparrows  and  chipping  spar- 
rows spent  considerable  time  hopping  among  the  plants,  a  song  sparrow 

"  Circular  4.".    2d.  series),  Div.  Entomology,  Dept  Agr.,  p.  3,  L901, 


28  BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

and  several  wrens  went  into  the  field  often,  and  two  Maryland  yellow- 
throats  scurried  among  the  leaves.  Forty  birds  were  killed  in  the 
vicinity  of  tobacco  fields.  They  comprised,  for  the  most  part,  the 
several  species  of  native  sparrows  that  breed  on  the  farm,  including 
also  a  few  wrens,  meadowlarks,  flycatchers,  and  others.  Not  one  of 
the4<>  had  fed  on  tobacco  worms,  although  observations  on  the  farm 
at  other  time-  had  shown  that  birds  eat  them  as  well  as  other  sphinx 
caterpillars.  Bobwhites  and  vireos  take  them,  hut  were  not  repre- 
sented in  the  collection.  The  chipping  sparrow  had  eaten  them  at 
other  times,  the  English  sparrow  had  been  seen  picking  them  from 
the  plants,  and  the  crow  is  known  to  be  an  habitual  'wormer.'  In 
dune.  L900,  an  old  crow  and  rive  young  stayed  near  tobacco  in  lot  1 
for  ten  days.  In  the  early  morning  and  late  afternoon  the  youngsters 
would  sit  clamoring  on  the  fence,  while  the  mother  bird  brought  them 
worms  from  the  field. 

By  way  of  summary  it  may  be  stated  that  while  the  observations 
made  to  determine  whether  or  not  the  birds  of  the  farm  were  protect- 
ing field  crops  from  insects  yielded  in  the  main  negative  results,  they 
do  not  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  birds  are  of  no  service.  They  do 
indicate,  however,  that  birds  are  not  to  be  depended  on  to  check 
uprisings  of  insect  pests,  and  that  insecticides  should  be  used  freely 
and  repeatedly.  In  case  of  this  farm  it  is  probable  that  the  super- 
abundance of  May-Hies  and  caddis-flies  diverted  the  birds'  attention 
from  pests  to  the  hordes  of  harmless  insects.  The  pea  plant-louse 
is  a  new  species,  unfamiliar  to  birds,  which,  however,  seldom  eat 
plant-lice.  The  potato  beetle,  though  unpalatable  and  avoided  by 
many  birds,  is  eaten  with  relish  by  the  bobwhite.  Had  an  especial 
effort  been  made  to  collect  this  bird  in  infested  fields,  it  would  probably 
have  been  found  to  be  doing  much  to  reduce  the  numbers  of  the  pest. 
Tobacco  worms  have  also  been  attacked  by  the  bobwhite  as  well  as  by 
the  crow,  English  sparrow,  and  chipping  sparrow;  and  it  is  likely  that 
when  these  worms  are  small  many  species  of  birds  feed  on  them. 

INFESTED  TREES  AND  SHRUBS. 

Fall  webworm. — The  next  group  of  observations  concerns  insects 
that  attack  trees  and  shrubs.  The  fall  webworm  occurred  regularly 
at  Marshall  Hall.  It  was  most  often  found  on  willow,  black  walnut, 
mulberry,  apple,  and  pear  trees.  At  a  time  when  it  was  not  especially 
abundant  ♦'»-!  birds,  largely  catbirds,  sparrows,  orioles,  wrarblers,  and 
flycatchers,  were  collected.  One  of  the  orioles,  a  male  Baltimore,  had 
eaten  webworms.  During  the  middle  of  June,  1899,  webworms  defoli- 
ated parts  of  apple  and  pear  trees.  A  number  of  stomachs  were  col- 
lected and  the  trees  were  closely  watched,  but  nothing  gave  evidence 
that  the  pesl  was  being  destroyed.  During  the  last  of  August, 
L896,  it  was  80  abundant  that  it  defoliated  all  the  willows  of  the  hog- 
lot  gully  and  fairly  festooned  the  branches  with  webs.     The  trees  were 


[N8ECT    FOOD.  2v 

watched  for  three  hours,  August  23.  Catbirds  and  rireos,  though 
numerous,  did  not  molest  the  larvae,  but  a  pair  of  yellow-billed  cuckoos 
continually  extracted  them  from  the  webs.  The  destruction  of  this 
insect  is  an  habitual  practice  with  the  cuckoo.     In  a  single  stomach  of 

the  species  examined  by  Professor  Beal  there  were 325  of  the  larvae. 

Saw-flies.  In  August,  ls'.*»'».  also,  the  willow  saw-fly  (Pteronus) 
was  defoliating  the  willow-  farther  up  the  gully.  No  birds  were 
observed  preying  on  it.  though  the  cuckoo  Is  known  to  relish  saw-fly 

lar\;e.  sixty  of  which  were  found  in  a  cuckoo's  stomach  examined  by 
Professor  Heal.  The  cornel  bushes  of  the  same  gully  were  almost 
every  year  stripped  by  the  larvae  of  another  saw-fly  (Hd/rpiphorus 
varianus).  On  July  30,  L895,  they  eovered  every  large  bush,  and 
later  they  devoured  all  the  foliage.  A  dozen  catbirds  and  several 
birds  of  other  species  were  constantly  near  the  bushes,  hut  evidently 
did  not  touch  the  insects.  A  repetition  of  these  circumstances  was 
noted  August  '2.  1896.  An  interesting  outbreak  of  the  pine  saw-fly 
(Lophyrus)  occurred  May  17.  1900,  in  which  hardly  a  dozen  pine 
trees  in  the  woods  adjoining  lot  1  escaped  attack.  In  the  area-  of 
woodland  where  the  insects  had  finished  their  work  the  trees  cast  ao 
shade  and  appeared  to  be  dead.  In  places  where  the  larva'  were 
feeding  their  dropping  excreta  made  a  continuous  patter  like  that  of 
falling  rain.  From  the  infested  district  34  birds  were  collected,  com- 
prising the  following  species:  Great  crested  flycatcher,  wood  pewee. 
blue  jay,  crow,  scarlet  tanager,  red-eyed  vireo.  white-eyed  vireo, 
magnolia  warbler,  black-poll  warbler,  oven-bird.  chat.  Canadian  war 
bier,  redstart,  gray-cheeked  thrush,  and  olive-backed  thrush.  Seven 
birds,  including  the  black-poll  warbler,  the  red-eyed  vireo.  and  the 
gray-cheeked  thrush,  had  eaten  the  insect.  Since  it  has  not  yet  been 
found  practicable  to  protect  forest  trees  by  means  of  insecticides,  such 
services  as  birds  render  among  these  pests  ought  to  be  appreciated. 

Plant-lice. — The  fact  that  plant-lice  are  not  selected  by  birds  has 
been  mentioned  in  the  notes  on  the  pea  plant-louse.  It  was  illus- 
trated in  the  case  of  a  Large  plant-louse  (Lachnus)  that  was  noticed 
on  an  old  willow  in  the  hog-lot  gully  August  23,  1896.  The  tree 
was  infested  by  so  many  of  the  insects  that  it-  limbs  were  more 
or  less  covered  with  the  honeydew  that  exuded  from  their  honey 
tube-,  but  none  of  the  numerous  birds  <>f  the  neighborhood  manifested 
the  slightest  interest  in  the  matter. 

Locust  Leaf-mining  Beetle.  -In  the  summer  of  L  895  a  destructive  out- 
break of  the  Locust  leaf-mining  beetles  (Odontota  dorsal  is)  turned  all 
the  locusts  of  the  farm  as  brown  as  if  they  had  been  scorched  by  tire, 
ruining  the  verdure  of  the  river  bluff.  ()n  July  .',»".  L895,  when  adult 
beetles  were  swarming  on  the  Locusts  of  the  hog-lot  gully,  catbirds 
were  observed  to  be  spending  a  good  deal  of  time  amid  the  browned 
foliage.     Thirteen  were  collected  and  nine  were  found  to  have  eaten 


80 


BIRIK    OF     A     MARYLAND    FARM. 


the  destructive  beetles.  One  bird  contained  no  fewer  than  is.  From 
1896  to  L902,  inclusive,  the  be< itles  did  not  again  ruin  the  foliage,  though 
they  wore  present  every  year,  and  at  times  in  early  summer  were  so 
numerous  that  a  scourge  was  feared.  In  1896  the  trees  farther  up  the 
river,  however,  were  turned  brown,  showing  that  the  escape  of  those 
at  Marshall  Hall  was  not  due  to  climatic  conditions  unfavorable  to  the 
insects;  therefore  it  i-  possible  that  the  birds  were,  at  least  to  some 
extent,  responsible  for  it.  Forty-six  birds  from  the  following  21 
species,  taken  during  different  years,  had  eaten  the  Locust  leaf-mining 
beetle: 

I/ist  ofhitds  whose  stomachs  contained  locust  leaf-mininQ  beetles. 


Catbird. 

Chipping  sparrow, 
Field  Bparrow. 
Bong  Bparrow. 
Towhee. 
( Sardinal. 
English  sparrow. 


Red-eyed  vireo. 

Warbling  vireo. 
Yellow  warbler. 
( hrchard  oriole. 
Baltimore  oriole. 
Scarlet  tanager. 
Kingbird. 


Great  crested  flycatcher. 
Wood  pewee. 
Phoebe. 

Yellow-billed  cuckoo. 
Cedar  bird. 
Carolina  wren. 
Junco. 


Moreover,  when  most  of  these  birds  were  collected,  the  beetles  were 
not  numerous.  All  the  common  species,  especially  the  arboreal  feed- 
ers, ate  them  eagerly  whenever  they  were  to  be  had. 

CERTAIN  DESTRUCTIVE  INSECTS. 


Flea-beetles. — Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  injury  done 
to  melons  by  the  flea-beetle  (Sysh  na  doing ata).  Its  congener,  the  pale- 
striped  flea-beetle  (Systena  hlandar  fig.  7)  is  also 
abundant  on  the  farm  and  one  or  the  other  has  been 
found  harmful  to  corn,  melons,  and  beans.  Else- 
where they  have  attacked  fruit  trees  and  tomatoes. 
Fortunately,  however,  they  appeared  to  form  the 
natural  beetle  food  of  several  ground-feeding  spe- 
cies of  birds  and  were  sought  for  even  when  they 
were  very  scarce.  They  were  seen  in  the  stomachs 
of  28  birds,  including  the  savanna,  the  grasshop- 
per, the  chipping,  the  song,  the  field,  and  the  white- 
throated  sparrows,  the  crow,  the  crow  blackbird, 
the  bobolink,  the  meadowlark,  the  house  wren,  and 
the  Maryland  yellow-throat.  Systena  blanda  was 
found  on  ragweed  in  a  held  of  ripe  standing 
wheat,  dune  1»',.  L898.  Eleven  chipping  sparrows  that  had  been  flying 
into  the  field  wei'e  shot.  None  had  taken  wheat  and  eight  had  fed  on 
the  beetles,  destroying  in  all  73.  The  smallest  number  found  in  a 
single  stomach  was  5,  the  largest  11. 


Fit..  7.— Pale-striped  flea- 
beetle   {Systena  Wanda) 

all  «■  r    »'h  i  1  t  c  n  d  .■  li  ; 

loaned    by   Division   of 
Bntomolog 


[NSECT    Fool). 


81 


Rose-chafer.  During  the  last  week  of  May,  L896,  the  rose-chafei 
(tiu".  8)  was  present  in  such  numbers  that  LOO  Individuals  were  counted 
on  one  rosebush  and  three  times  thai  number  on  an  adjacent  blossom- 


Fi<..  8.— Rose-chafer  i  after  Riley;  loaned  by  the  Division  <>f  EntomoL 

ing  elder.  ( )f  62  birds  collected  during  this  outbreak,  only  3  2  king- 
birds and  a  cardinal-had  destroyed  rose-chafers.  This  result  was  not 
expected,  because  May-flies  and  other  tempting  insects  were  not  com- 


5 


f 

s 

/    J  JO 


Fig.  9.— Kingbird. 

nion  then,  and  because  rose-chafers  have  no  disagreeable  secretions 
like  those  of  potato-beetles  and  the  two  diabroticas,  but  are  relatives 
of  the  May-beetle  and  the  dung-beetles,  which  are  highly  relished  by 


32  BIRDS    OF     \     MARYLAND    FARM. 

many  birds.  The  kingbirds  (fig.  9)  had,  however,  shown  a  great  liking 
for  rose-chafers,  as  these  two,  the  only  ones  collected,  had  eaten  L5 
and  20  of  the  insects  respectively. 

May-beetle.-  —May-beetles  attract  only  the  larger  species;  their  hard 
shells  offer  too  much  resistance  to  small  birds.  During  their  season — 
May  and  June— 292  bird  stomachs  were  examined,  but  May-beetles 
were  found  in  only  16.  These  stomachs  were  from  birds  of  the  fol- 
lowing ten  species:  Brown  thrasher,  orchard  oriole,  phcebe.  catbird, 
gray-cheeked  thrush,  blue  jay.  crow,  crow  blackbird,  screech  owl.  and 
broad-winged  hawk.  This  record  is  far  below  a  fair  average,  for  at 
the  time  it  was  made  the  beetles  wore  rare;  moreover,  the  two  famous 
beetle-eaters,  the  crow  and  the  crow  blackbird,  were  represented  only 
by  a  single  individual  of  each  kind. 

Cutworms. — Similarly  unfavorable  conditions  attended  the  destruc- 
tion of  cutworms  (fig.  1.1.).  though  these  insects  are  obtainable  for  a 
longer  period  and  are  edible  for  small  as  well  as  large  birds.  No  seri- 
ous outbreak  of  this  pest  occurred.  Had  there  been  one.  birds  would 
have  been  found  combating  it,  for  all  species  that  are  in  the  slightest 
degree  insectivorous  and  feed  at  all  on  the  ground  show  a  marked 
liking  for  cutworm-. 

Grasshoppers. — Grasshoppers  (tig.  10)  when  abundant  are  to  the  bird 
what  bread  is  to  man.     They  were,  however,  comparatively  rare  at 


Fig.     10.— Grasshopper     (after     Riley; 
Loaned  by  Division  of  Entomology  , 

Marshall  Hall;  therefore  only  71  of  the  645  native  birds  collected  had 
eaten  them,  though  most  of  these  had  made  them  the  major  part  of 
their  food.      rl'he  list  of  species  eating  them  is  as  follows: 

hist  of  birds  examined  whose  slomacJis  contained  grasshopp*  /■•-■. 

Bobwhite.  Orchard  oriole.  Cardinal 

Kingbird.  Crow  blackbird.  Maryland  yellow-throat. 

Great  crested  flycatcher.  Savanna  sparrow.  Catbird. 

Blue  jay.  Grasshopper  sparrow.  Carolina  wren. 

Common  crow.  Henslow  sparrow.  House  wren. 

Cowbird.  Chipping  sparrow.  Brown  creeper 

Red-winged  blackbird.  Field  sparrow.  Robin. 

Meadowlark.  Song  sparrow.  Bluebird. 

Ibid  grasshoppers  been  abundant  the  birds  would  undoubtedly  have 
destroyed  them  in  Large  numbers.  Their  scarcity  may  possibly  be 
due  to  the  abundance  of  birds  at  Marshall  Hall. 

Ants.-  Whenever  temperature  allowed  any  insects  to  occur  in  appre- 
ciable numbers,  ant-  were  abundant,  and  at  times  they  were  the  most 


Bull.  17,  Biological  Survey,  U.  S.  Dept    of  Agriculture. 


Plate  VII 


Fig.  1.— Calamus  Swamp,  the  Haunt  of  Several  Marsh- 
loving  Birds. 


Fig.  2.— Calamus  Swamp  in  Winter,  Showing  Hill  Tenanted 
by  Blue  Jays,  Great  Horned  Owls.  Red-shouldered 
Hawks,  and  Ruffed  Grouse. 


Bull.  17,  Biological  Survey,  U.  S    Dept    of  Agnculture. 


Platc  VIII. 


Fig.  1  .—Tobacco  Field  of  Lot  2,  where  the  Effect 
of  Birds  upon  an  Uprising  of  Tobacco  Worms  was 
Studied. 


B^ 


Fig.  2. -Sweet  Potatoes  and  Pear  Orchard,  where 
Various  Investigations  were  Made. 


[N8ECT    POOD. 

conspicuous  of  all  forms  of  insect  life.  Of  the  645  native  birds  collected, 
147  had  fed  on  them.  Woodpecker-,  flycatchers,  night-hawks,  swal- 
lows, catbirds,  and  white-throated  sparrows  seemed  to  have  the  most 
liking  for  them. 

A  Large  anl  very  frequently  eaten  is  a  black  species,  Camponotus 
permsyl/vanicus,  which  during  the  wanner  half  of  the  year  La  very 
abundant  on  tree  trunks.  Ets  habits  expose  it  to  attack  by  several 
kind-  of  birds.  The  downy  woodpecker  was  constantly  making  spirals 
around  the  trunks  of  tree-  at  Mar-hall  Hall  in  vigilant  search  for  these 
insects.  The  catbird  was  seen  feeding  on  them  as  they  journeyed  on 
the  ground  from  tree  to  tree.  These  two  birds  probably  destroy 
more  than  any  other  species,  though  the  sapsucker  also  appears  to 
relish  them.  The  small  species  of  ant-  are  eaten  much  oftener  than 
the  larger  one-,  especially  at  their  swarming  time.  For  several  days 
during  the  middle  of  April,  L899,  great  swarms  of  corn-louse  ants 
{Lasius)  were  taking  their  marriage  flight,  and  of  the  55  birds  collected 
then,  mostly  native  sparrows, 23  had  joined  in  the  work  of  destroying 
them.  This  was  a  valuable  service,  for  destruction  of  the  corn-louse 
ant  is  the  only  effective  mean-  of  combating  the  corn  Louse,  which 
this  ant  protects  and  disseminates.  Swallow-,  also,  often  attack  the 
corn-louse  ant.  On  Julv  8,  1898,  six  out  of  seven  rough-winged 
.-wallow-  collected  on  the  farm  had  ted  on  it  and  on  little  else,  one  bird 
c(  ntaining  40  ants  and  another  ."><>.  At  the  same  time  kingbirds,  house 
wrens,  marsh  wrens,  yellow  warblers,  song  sparrows,  and  chipping 
Sparrows  were  making  inroads  on  it.  though  it  was  much  less  numer- 
ous than  during  April.  1899.  In  the  late  afternoon  of  July  1^.  L898, 
■lying  ants  of  the  species  Myrmica  scabrinodes,  which,  as  Prof.  S.  A. 
Forbes  has  shown,  injure  corn  both  when  it  is  sprouting  and  when  it 
i-  in  milk  and  also  foster  the  corn  louse,  were  SO  abundant  over  lots 
1  and  '2  that  their  gauzy  wings  in  the  level  sun  rays  tilled  the  air  with 
shimmering  rainbow  colors.  Bank  swallows  were  circling  among 
&h em,  close  to  the  ground,  making  a  hearty  supper.  By  crouching 
low  one  could  see  them  catch  the  Insects,  somet imc-  within  a  few  feet 
of  one's  head.  \Y  hile  the  flock  were  feeding,  four  bird-  were  collected. 
[they  had  consumed  practically  nothing  but  ant-  and  contained,  all 
together,  just  l'oo.  At  this  rate,  250  swallows— a  fair  estimate  of  the 
number  present  would  consume  in  a  -ingle  afternoon  L2,500  ant-. 
Many  other  birds  were  feeding  on  them,  including  night-hawks,  a 
single  one  of  which  ha-  been  known  to  eat  L000  at  a  meal.  A  house 
wren,  a  yellow  warbler,  a  chipping  sparrow,  and  a  phoebe,  which  were 
collected  earlier,  had  all  taken  them,  but  three  swifts  collected  after 
sunset  had  not. 

On  August  5,  L898,  Solenqpsts  molesta,  an  ant  injurious  to  corn  and 
al-o  a  household  pest,  was  -warming,  and  a  number  of  bird-  were  prey- 
ing on  it.     In  a  newly  mown  timothy  field  near  the  cow  barn  a  dozen 
T'22l>— No.  17—02 3 


84 


BIBDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 


chipping  sparrows  hopped  about,  springing  a  foot  or  two  into  the  air 
every  few  minutes  to  obtain  a  mouthful.  Two  strayed  <>ti'  by  them- 
selves and  made  good  subjects  for  observation.  In  twenty  minutes 
they  had  eaten  21  ants.  Song  sparrows  and  English  sparrows  were 
feeding  in  a  similar  manner.  A  kingbird  now  and  then  left  his  station 
Oil  an  apple  tree  to  snap  up  the  prey,  and  bank  swallows  and  barn  swal- 
lows skimmed  over  the  fields,  gathering  in  large  numbers.  Undoubt- 
edly other  specie-  were  also  doing  good  service. 

The  total  number  of  native  species  engaged  in  the  destruction  of 
ants  was  39  and  included  the  following  list: 

List  of  birds  examined  n-hosc  stomachs  contained  ants. 


Spotted  sandpiper. 

I  >owny  woodpecker. 

Flicker. 

Kingbird. 

Great  crested  flycatcher. 

Phoebe. 

Wood  pewee. 

Orchard  oriole. 

White-throated  sparrow. 

Chipping  sparrow. 

Field  sparrow. 

Junco. 

Song  sparrow. 


T<  >whee. 

Chat. 

Canadian  warbler. 

Mockingbird. 

Catbird. 

House  wren. 

Long-billed  marsh  wren. 

Cardinal. 

Barn  swallow. 

Bank  swallow. 

Rough-winged  swall<  >w. 

Red-eyed  vireo. 

White-eyed  vireo. 


W<  irm-eating  warbler. 
Yellow  warbler. 
Magnolia  warbler. 
Black-poll  warbler. 
Prairie  warbler. 
( ►ven-bird. 
Water-thrush. 
Maryland  yellow-throat, 
lb-own  creeper. 
Carolina  chickadee. 
Blue-gray  gnatcatcher. 
( rray-cheeked  thrush. 
Olive-backed  thrush. 


On  August  3  there  was  a  large  flight  of  termites  (Termes  jlavipes)^ 

commonly  known   as  white  ants,  pests   that  tunnel  into  woodwork. 

At  the  lower  end  of  lot  3  fully  200  swallows,  mainly  bank  swallows. 

with  a  few  barn  swallows  and  white-bellied  swallows,  were  very  busy 

among  them.     Two  birds  of  each  of  the  first  two  species  and  three  of 

the   third  were  found  to  have  eaten  together  320. 
Weevils. — Sparrows,  blackbirds,  orioles,  and  meadowlarks  appeared 

to  be  the  worst  enemies  of  weevils.  The  orchard  oriole  had  a  useful 
habit  of  feeding  in  plum  orchards  of  the  Hun- 
gerford  farm  on  the  plum  curculio,  which  usu- 
ally ruins  seven-eighths  of  the  crop  at  Marshall 
Hall.  A  score  of  bobolinks  feeding  (May  17  and 
18,  1899)  in  a  wheat  field  that  was  just  coming 
into  milk  were  suspected  of  injuring  the  grain, 
and  six  were  shot.  None  of  them  had  eaten 
wheat,  but  all  had  fed  chiefly  on  a  very  injurious 
Weevil  the  imbricated  suout-beetle  (Epicd&TUS 
imbricatvs),  A  dozen  bobolinks  were  observed 
(May  ir>.  L900)  in  plants  of  red  clover  securing 
the  clover-leaf  weevil  (Phyt<momv&  punctatus). 
These  two  weevils  are  also  relished  by  blackbirds, 

meadowlarks,  crows,  catbirds,  and  other  species.    Bill  bugs  (Spkmo- 


a 

Fig.U.— Weevil  (after Chit 
tenden;  )*>;> n<<  1  b>  i»i\ is- 
lon  of  Entomology). 


INSECT    FOOD. 


phorus  parvult'js)  also  are  often  taken.  bu<  the  small  clover  weevil 
nes  hispidulus)  is  destroyed  mosl  frequently  of  all.    The  spar- 
rows and  other  terrestrial-feeding  species  and  all  the  aerial  feeders 
consume  this  little  pesl  in  great  numbers.     The  rice  weevil  (Calandra 
oryza)  was  found  in  the  stomachs  of  two  marsh  wrens  collected  in 
the  wild  rice  of  the  swamp  September  7.  L896,  and  the  injurious  cab- 
bage curculio  (Ceutorhyrwhus  rapx)  had  been  eaten  by  three  rough 
winged  swallows  taken  July  9,  ls'.^.     Among  other  weevils  destr< 
by  .Mar-hall  Hall  birds  may  be  mentioned  Apion,  Baris^  < 
Macrop8,  Tanymecus,  and  Tylodemia. 

The  weevil-eating  birds  numbered  L66  of  the  645  collected,  and  were 
divided  among  the  subjoined  44  species: 

Ltd  of  bird*  examined  who*  stomach*  coi  I 


Downy  woodpecker. 

Chimney  swift. 

Great  crested  tlwatcher. 

W«>od  pewee. 

Blue  jay. 

Common  crow. 

ink. 
Co u  bird. 

Red-winged  blackbird. 
Meadowlark. 
Orchard  oriole. 

sty  blackbird. 
Crow  blackbird. 
Savanna  sparrow, 
chopper  sparrow. 


I  [enslow  sparrow. 

White-throated  sparrow 

Chipping  sparrow. 

Field  sparrow. 

Junco. 

Song  sparrow. 

Towhee. 

Cardinal. 

Barn  swallow. 

White-bellied  swallow. 

Bank  swallow. 

Rough-winged  swallow. 

Red-eyed  vireo. 

Warbling  vireo. 

White-eyed  vireo. 


Yellow  warbler. 
Magnolia  warbler. 
Black-poll  warbler. 
Oven-bird. 
Water-thrush. 
Maryland  yellow-throat. 
Chat. 
Catbird. 
House  wren. 
Long-billed  marsh  wren. 
Brown  creeper. 
Carolina  chickadee. 
O ray-cheeked  thrush. 
Robin. 


It  seems  strange  that  so  many  birds  should  have  oaten  weevils,  for 
the  insects  were  never  sufficiently  abundant  to  be  conspicuous,  seldom, 
indeed,  affording  tin1  collector  a  dozen  specimens  without  diligent  use 
of  the  sweep  net.  Moreover,  they  harmonize  so  admirably  with  their 
surroundings  that  birds  do  well  to  find  them  *t  all.  Many  aerial 
feeders,  it  is  true,  capture  them  on  the  wing,  l>ut  a  large  number  of 
pound-feeding  species  take  them  from  the  ground  despite  their  pro- 
tective coloration.  The  inference  i-  that  birds  find  them  dainty  mor- 
tals, which  pay  for  close  seeking.  Such  a  relish  i-  not  easily  explained, 
for  weevil-  appear  scarcely  more  edible  than  little  -tone-:  but  it  is  a 
fortunate  circumstance,  for  they  arc  dangerous  pests,  not  easily  con- 
trolled by  insecticides. 

Oak  scale. — An  unexpected  and  somewhat  suggestive  habit  dis- 
covered at  Mar-hall  Hall  was  the  feeding  of  certain  species  on  scale 
Insects.  Of  the  22  vireo-  and  arboreal  warblers  collected  during  the 
bine  saw-fly  invasion  previously  referred  to.  10  had  preyed  on  an  oak 
scale  (Kermes).  This  insect  does  not  occur  on  fruit  tree-,  but  it- 
destruction  suggested  desirable  possibilities  in  cases  where  seal 


36  BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

the  orchard  were  present,  notably  in  the  case  of  the  San  Jose*  scale, 
which  in  many  places  has  threatened  to  ruin  certain  horticultural 
interests. 

Unobtainable  insects.  There  are  several  insects  that  would  probably 
l>e  palatable  to  birds  if  their  habits  did  not  render  them  unobtainable. 
During  the  summer  of  L898  a  grain  moth  caused  a  loss  of  50  percent 
of  the  corn  in  the  crib.  The  only  birds  that  entered  the  building  were 
English  sparrows,  which  prefer  grain  to  insects,  and  therefore  prob- 
ably did  not  destroy  the  larvae.  In  1900  tobacco  was  affected  by  a 
stalk-borer,  the  larva  of  a  crambid  moth,  and  in  1898  corn  suffered 
severely  from  the  corn  stalk-borer  (Diatrdea  saccharalis),  but  the 
seclusive  habits  of  these  two  larvae  prevented  the  possibility  of  their 
destruction  by  birds.  Certain  kinds  of  flies,  though  palatable,  are  too 
alert  to  be  caught.  This  proved  to  be  the  case  with  house-flies,  stable- 
flies,  bluebottle  blow-flies,  and  horse-flies,  particularly  the  banded- 
winged  form  (Chrysqps).  The  last-mentioned  flies  were  so  numerous 
that  they  greatly  annoyed  both  man  and  beast!  The  kingbird,  the 
barn  swallow,  and  the  bank  swallow  frequently  caught  them,  and  in 
single  instances  Acadian  flycatchers,  catbirds,  song  sparrows,  and 
chipping  sparrows  had  eaten  them. 

USEFUL  INSECTS. 

In  addition  to  injurious  and  neutral  insects,  certain  species  that  art' 
useful  to  man  contribute  to  the  food  of  birds.  They  consist  for  the 
most  part  of  various  kinds  of  bees,  and  numerous  species  of  wasps  and 
beetles  that  prey  on  insect  pests. 

Honey  bee. — Birds  are  often  accused  of  eating  honey  bees.  The 
kingbird  is  most  frequently  mentioned  in  this  complaint,  and  his  nick- 
name of  '  bee  bird' or  'bee  martin'  attests  the  common  belief  about 
him.  It  is  true  that  he  is  often  guilty  of  the  charge,  but  as  he  selects 
the  worthless  drones  and  does  not  molest  the  workers,  his  habit  is 
not  injurious  to  bee  keepers.  During  1  Si»r>  and  1896  two  hives  of 
bees  within  30  feet  of  two  kingbirds'  nests  were  not  meddled  with 
at  all. 

A  good  deal  has  been  written  about  the  destruction  by  birds  of  use 
fill  predaceous  and  parasitic  insects  that  serve  to  keep  insect  pests  in 
check,  and  the  assertion  has  been  made  that  even  though  birds  U'Vil  on 
pests,  they  destroy  so  many  of  these  useful  species  that  they  over- 
balance by  this  injury  the  good  which  they  accomplish.  Special 
attention  was  given  to  this  subject.  Whenever  any  useful  insect 
was  abundant  at  Marshall  Hall  the  relation  of  the  birds  to  it  was 
particularly  noted. 

Soldier-beetles. — With  the  exception  of  rose-chafers  the  useful  soldier- 
beetle  {ChavMogna/thua  pennsylvanicvs)   was  the   most    conspicuous 


- 


[NSECT    Fool).  87 

species  present  May  28  30,  L896, after  May-Hie-  had  become  compara- 
tively scarce.  The  soldier-beetles  were  in  the  grass,  <>n  blossoms,  on 
the  foliage  of  bushes  and  tree-,  and  in  the  air.  yet  of  the  62  birds 
collected, representing  L9  species,  only  3,  namely.  2  wood  pewees  and 

B  phcebe,  had  eaten  (hem.     At  other  times  (June,  L898  and  L899),  when 

the  beetles  were  abundant,  more  than  a  hundred  birds,  including  nearly 

all  the  common  species  On  the  farm,  were  collected,  and  only  a  chat.  2 
catbirds,  and  2  kingbirds  (June.  L898)  had  eaten  them.  Experiments 
with  several  kinds  of  caged  birds  have  shown  that  the  species  is  dis- 
tasteful, probably  on  account  of  its  pungent  and  disagreeable  flavor. 

Fireflies. — Another  useful  predaceous  beetle  of  the  same  family. 
having  a  similarly  repulsive  taste,  is  a  firefly,  Pkotinus.  In  .June  it 
sometimes,  even  during  daylight,  outnumbered  the  soldier-beetle,  but 
it  was  never  found  in  stomachs  of  Marshall  Hall  birds. 

Tiger-beetles. — The  useful  tiger-beetle,  a  ferocious  predatory  insect, 
represented  at  Marshall  Hall  by  several  species,  was  never  so  numer- 
ous as  the  soldier-beetle  or  the  firefly,  but  was  often  seen  by  the  dozen, 
especially  about  the  middle  of  April,  in  the  sandy  road  alone-  the  bluff. 
It  has  no  unpleasant  flavor  and  must  rely  on  its  alertness  to  save  it 
from  enemies.  When  danger  threatens,  it  springs  into  the  air  and 
flies  swiftly  away.  Only  the  quickest  birds  have  any  chance  of  catch- 
ing it.  A  few  birds,  mainly  swallows  and  flycatchers,  secure  it  occa- 
sionally. Of  the  645  birds  examined  only  a  phcebe,  a  kingbird,  a 
great  crested  tlycatcher,  and  a  crow  blackbird  had  eaten  it. 

Ground-beetles. — With  ground-beetles  (Carabidae,  tig.  12),  which  as  a 
class  are  regarded  as  predatory,  the  case  was  differ- 
ent.     Most  birds  eat  them,  some  species  largely. 

Ground-beetles  are  numerous  in  spring,  then  be- 
come less  conspicuous,  but  appear  later  in  large 
numbers.  Their  period  of  greatest  abundance  in 
the  five  years  was  April  in  1  L  L899,  when,  with 
the  exception  of  ants,  they  were  the  most  noticeable 

insects  on  the  farm.     The  smaller  kinds  (Anisodac- 

tylus  agricola,)  A.  rnst',<-ns^  Camonia,  Amara^  and  a      * 

small  Hdrpalvs)  predominated.     Most  of  the  birds      Sfter~aner  loaned 

collected  then  were  sparrows,  which  had  eaten  very  by  Division  oi  Ento- 
few  of  the  beetle-.  At  the  same  time  the  larva'  of 
a  large  ground-beetle  (Harpalus  caliginosus)  were  fairly  abundant, 
and  4  of  the  8  robins  collected  had  destroyed  them.  During  mid- 
summer (especially  L898  and  L899)  the  large  Carabidae  (Harpalw 
valigin08US  and  //.  permsylvanicus)  fairly  swarmed  after  dark  and  were 
attracted  to  lights  "m  hosts.  They  were  seldom  seen  during  the  day. 
but  crows,  blackbirds,  catbirds,  meadowlarks,  and  others  frequently 
extracted  them  from  their  hiding  places.     Three  meadowlarks  (August 


38 


BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 


29,  1898)  had  made  the  bulk  of  their  food  of  them.  The  genus  is 
not  exclusively  carnivorous,  for  it  lias  boon  known  to  feed  on  seeds 
of  grasses  and  weeds,  and  recently  (1900)  has  been  discovered  eating 
strawberry  seeds  to  a  harmful  extent.  One  grower  at  Leechburg, 
Pa.,  lost  on  a  quarter-acre  patch  $350  in  three  nights  through  their 
depredations.0  The  nature1  of  the  injury  has  so  far  made  remedial 
methods  impracticable;  consequently  the  predatory  habit  of  birds  is 
valuable  in  this  case. 

There  is  an  increasing  tendency  to  doubt  the  utility  of  ground- 
beetles  as  a  class.  A  European  species  (Zdbrus  gibbus)  is  a  notorious 
grain  pest,  and  an  American  species  (Agonoderus  paUipes)  has  recently 
been  ascertained  to  feed  sometimes  on  newly  planted  corn.  Professor 
Forbes  lias  shown  that  the  food  habits  of  ground-beetles  vary  with 
the  structure  of  their  jaws,  species  with  sharp-curved  jaws  being 
carnivorous,  while  those  with  blunt  jaws  are  decidedly  vegetarian. 
Only  a  few — probably  less  than  half  a  dozen— of  the  Marshall  Hall 
birds  examined  had  destroyed  the  more  carnivorous  species.  It  is 
probable,  therefore,  that  birds  do  no  appreciable  harm  in  their  rela- 
tion to  ground-beetles,  but  may  even  do  some  good  by  reducing  the 
numbers  of  such  species  as  have  vegetarian  habits  and  occasionally 
become  pests.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  different  ground-beetles 
found  in  the  stomachs  collected:  Amara,  Anisodactylus  agricola,  A. 
rusticus,  Bembidium,  Cratacanthus  dubius,  Chldenius  aestivus,  II<ifj><ihis 
caliginosus,  II.  pen/iisyl/vanicus^  and  several  smaller  species  of  Har- 
l>dl \u8.  These  had  been  eaten  by  8'2  birds  of  the  following  35  different 
species : 

List  of  birds  examined  whose  stomachs  contained  ground-beetles. 


Woodcock. 

Spotted  sandpiper. 

Bobwhite. 

Downy  woodpecker. 

nicker. 

Kin- bird. 

( rreat  crested  flycatcher. 

Phoebe. 

Blue  jay. 

Crow. 

Red-winged  blackbird. 

Meadowlark. 


Rusty  blackbird. 
('row  blackbird. 
Savanna  sparrow. 
Grasshopper  sparrow. 
Henslow  sparrow. 
White-throated  sparrow 
( 'hipping  sparrow. 
Junco. 

Son<;  sparrow. 
Towhee. 
( lardinal. 
Water-thrush. 


Louisiana  water-thrush. 

Maryland  yellow-throat. 

Chat. 

Mockingbird. 

Catbird. 

Brown  thrasher. 

House  wren. 

Gray-cheeked  thrush. 

Olive-backed  thrush. 

Robin. 

Bluebird. 


Ladybirds.  'Hie  most  useful  of  all  beetles  are  the  members  of  the 
family  Coccinellidae,  commonly  known  as  ladybirds,  which  with  their 
larvae  are  voracious  feeders  on  Insect  pests.  Only  three  of  the  Mar- 
shall Hall  birds  a  long-billed  marsh  wren,  a  song  sparrow,  and  an 
English  sparrow     were  found  to  have  destroyed  these  valuable  insects. 


"iiull.  Cornell  Univ.  Agric.  Kxpt.  Sta.,  p.  150,  1901. 


INSECT    Fool).  89 

The  particular  species  eaten  was  in  each  case  Hippodamia  maculata. 
It  was  not  noticeably  abundant  at  the  lime  it  was  taken,  but  during 
August,  L896,  it  was  the  most  conspicuous  insect  on  the  farm.  Then, 
however,  it  was  not  molested.  Ladybirds  of  another  species  (Cocci- 
nella  9-notata)  were  very  numerous  when  the  pea  plant-louse  was  mak- 
ing havoc,  ami  appeared  on  every  pea  vine  greedily  devouring  the 
plant-lice.  It  was,  fortunately,  quite  free  from  attack  by  birds. 
Indeed,  ladybirds  appear  to  be  distasteful  to  birds.  I  have  offered 
them  to  a  dozen  different  caged  birds,  and  they  have  always  been 
refused. 

Flies.— Beneficial  diptera,  such  as  the  predatory  robber-flies  and  tin- 
parasitic  tachinid  and  syrphid  flies,  are  too  alert  to  be  caught  by  any 
birds  except  flycatchers  and  swallows,  and  even  these  secure  them 
rarely.  During  dune  and  duly,  when  robber-flies  were  plentiful, 
birds  wen1  not  found  disturbing  them.  Syrphid  flies  were  so  numer- 
ous during  the  last  of  August,  L899,  that  several  would  alight  on  my 
camera  whenever  it  was  set  down,  but  a  score  of  birds  collected  then 
had  not  made  use  of  them  as  food. 

Bees"  and  wasps. — The  most  abundant  and  conspicuous  of  the  useful 
insects  are  bees  and  the  flower-fertilizing  species  of  wasps.  Of  the 
645  native  birds  collected  only  31,  representing  20  species,  had  eaten 
bees.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  offenders  were  largely  either 
warblers  or  aerial  feeders.     The  list  is  appended: 

List  of  birds  examined  whose  stomachs  contained  bees  and  wasps. 

(Chimney  swift.  Song  sparrow.  Yellow  warbler. 

I Ruby-throated    humming-    Scarlet  tanager.  Black-] >< >1 1  warbler. 

bird.  Purple  martin.  Water-thrush. 

'Kingbird.  White-bellied  swallow.  Maryland  yellow-throat. 

Rusty  blackbird.  Bank  swallow.  Canadian  warbler. 

Henslow  sparrow.  Rough-winged  swallow.  Catbird. 

[Chipping  sparrow.  Red-eyed  vireo.  Carolina  chickadee. 

Practically  all  the  bees  eaten  were  small  species  of  the  family 
Andrenidae,  mainly  Andfrena  and  Halictus;  the  larger  species  are 
Seldom  taken.  During  May.  L900,  bumblebees  and  carpenter  bees  con- 
gregated in  such  numbers  around  locust  trees  white  with  grape-like 
clusters  that  from  sunrise  to  sunset  a  deep,  continued  hum  arose  as 
from  a  hive:  and  when  fruit  trees  were  in  blossom  bees  swarmed  about 

them  also:  but  in  both  cases  observation  failed  to  discover  any  con- 
sumption of  the  insects  by  birds.  Blossoming  persimmon  trees  alive 
'with  bees  were  watched  for  several  hours,  but  only  one  bird,  a  hum- 
mingbird, visited  them. 

No  arculate  wasps,  except  certain  species  of  the  family  Scoliidee, 
become  food  for  birds:  Indeed,  less  than  half  a  do/en  of  all  the  birds 


o Exclusive  of  the  honey  bee,  which  is  considered  separately  (seep.  ot>). 


40 


BIRDS    OF     \    MAKYLAM)    FARM. 


collected  had  taken  these  apecies.  Others,  such  as  Vespa,  Poltstes, 
Pompiliis,  PelqpcBU8)  Mondbiaz  and  AmniophUa^  were  collectively 
abundant  on  frequent  occasions,  but  so  far  as  observation  went  no 
birds  preyed  on  them. 

That  birds  feed  extensively  on  parasitic  wasps  is  indisputable:  but 
the  harm  thus  done  is  less  than  might  be  supposed,  for  the  usefulness 
of  such  wasps  is  in  inverse  ratio  to  their  size,  and  birds  seldom  select 
the  smallest  forms,  such  as  Braconidse  and  Chalcididse.  Ninety-seven 
of  the  Mar-hall  Hall  birds,  represent  inn'  the  following  36  species,  had 
eaten  parasitic  I  Iymenoptera. 

List  of  birds  examined  whose  stomachs  contained  parasitic  wasps. 


Bobwhite 

I  k)wny  woodpecker 

Chimney  swift. 

Kingbird. 

( rreat  created  flycatcher 

Phoebe, 

Wood  pewee. 

Blue  jay. 

Bobolink. 

Red-winged  blackbird. 

Meadowlark. 

( Orchard  oriole. 


Baltimore  oriole. 
( rrasshopper  Bparrow. 
( 'hipping  Bparrow. 
Field  sparrow. 
Song  sparrow. 
Scarlet  tanager. 
Summer  tanager. 
Purple  martin. 
Barn  swallow. 
White-bellied  swallow, 
Bank  swallow. 
Red-eved  vireo. 


Warbling  vireo. 

White-eyed  vireo. 

Yellow  warbler. 

Magnolia  warbler. 

black-poll  warbler. 

Louisiana  water-thrush. 

Maryland  yellow-throat 

Chat. 

Redstart. 

Catbird. 

Long-billed  marsh  wren. 

<  Hive-backed  thrush. 


In  this  mischief  the  flycatchers  are  oy  all  means  the  greatest 
offenders,  the  .swallows  next.  and.  less  generally  but  still  noticeably, 
the  warblers  next.     Of  all  the  flycatchers  the  wood  pewee  appeared 

to  be  the  most  active  and  per- 
sistent in  tins  destruction. 
Parasitic  wasps  are  not  usu- 
ally so  alert  and  swift  as 
many  other  insects:  there- 
fore they  are  easy  victims. 
Most  of  the  class  are  ichneu- 
mon flies  (Ichneumonidae 
fig*.  13).  Somewhat  more 
than  a  tit'tb  of  tbe  birds  that 
had  taken  parasitic  wasps. 
however,  bad  fed  on  a  cer- 
tain black  wasp.  Tvphia  inor- 
nata,  which .  is  a  vigorous 
enemy  of  the  larva  of  the 
May-beetle.  These  wasps 
that    it    is    not    unnatural   that    a 


■Ichneumon  By  (after  Bo  ward;  loaned  by 
Division  "f  Bntomolog 


are    so   common    in    May   and    June 

good    many    should    fall    prey    to    birds.      The    only    other    noticeably 

abundant    parasitic    Hymenoptera  were  some  very   large   bracomds 


[X8ECT    FOOD.  41 

(Mi  lanobrctcori),  of  which  at  any  time  during  the  first  pari  of  September, 
.  a  dozen  could  have  been  collected  within  a  few  minutes.     Field 
Bparrows  and  probably  other  birds  consumed  them  freely,  though  as 
a  rule  parasitic  Hymenoptera  arc  eaten  only  in  small  numbers. 

Many  of  these  useful  species  appear  too  late  in  the  season  to  be  of 
much  effect.  An  attempt  was  made  to  measure  the  evil  effects  of  their 
destruction  by  observing  how  far  they  were  parasitizing  abundant 
insect  pests,  but  conditions  were  unfavorable  and  adequate  results 
were  not  obtained.  The  white  grub  of  the  May-beetle  was  not  present 
in  numbers  sufficient  to  furnish  evidence.  Hie  tobacco  worm  was  par- 
asitized by  braconids  t<>  some  extent,  hut  even  at  the  time  of  greatest 
activity  (August,  L898)  only  one-tenth  of  L  percent  of  the  worm-  were 
attacked.  The  question,  then,  of  the  degree  to  which  bird-  offend  by 
preying  on  these  Hymenoptera  remains,  so  far  as  Marshall  Hall  is 
concerned,  a  doubtful  one.  especially  since  most  of  the  species 
destroyed  are  not  known  to  be  effective  parasites. 

SUMMARY. 

Considering  the  insect  food  of  the  645  native  birds  collectively,  we 
find  that  the  birds  were  most  insectivorous  in  May.  when  somewhat 
more  than  90  percent  of  their  food  was  insects,  and  that  naturally  they 
took  the  fewest  insects  in  the  coldest  weather.  During  the  blizzard  of 
February.  L900,  however,  insects  constituted  12  percent  of  the  diet 
of  the  37  birds  collected.  Throughout  the  entire  time  of  observation 
insects  and  their  allies,  including  a  small  percentage  of  spiders  and 
other  invertebrate-,  amounted  to  60.41  percent  of  the  total  volume  of 
food.     They  are  distributed  as  follow-: 

Proportion  of  insects  <ni<{  their  allies  in  food  of  birds  examined. 

■•■lit. 

White  ants 1.07 

Bugs 3.63 

May-flies 6.51 

Ants  and  other  I  [ymenoptera 9.64 

( Caterpillars,  with  a  few  adult  Lepidoptera 7.80 

<  rrasshoppera  and  a  few  crickets 4.11 

Beetles LS 

Miscellaneous  insects 3.72 

Spiders 4.  4s 

Miscellaneous  invertebrates,  mainly  Crustacea,  snail-,  and  myria- 
podfl B3 

T<  .tal 60. 4 1 

The   bugs   consisted    both   of   Heteroptera   and    Homoptera.     The 
Heteroptera  included  such  form-  a-  Podisus,  Euschistus^  Trichopepla 
8emivittata,    Sinea  diadema,   Thyanta  custator,   Hymenarcys  n- 1 
Metapodivs  femvratus,  Nesara  hilaris,  Corizus,  Ooriscus^  <    fimdama, 
Pri<midv&)  Alydus  pilo&ulus,  and  Alydus  eurinits.     The   Homoptera 


42 


BIRDS    <>F    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 


Fig.  14. — Cutworm    and    moth  (after  Howard: 
loaned  by  Division  of  Entomology). 


included  leaf-hoppers,  scale  insects,  and  an  occasional  plant-louse  and 
giant  water-bug.  Of  the  Hymenoptera  the  insignificant  proportion  of 
L.89  percent  consisted  of  parasitic  wasps,  while  the  remainder  was 
almost  entirely  ants.  The  Lepidoptera  were  very  nearly  all  caterpil- 
lars, though  moths  were  occasionally  eaten.  The  caterpillars  com- 
prised the  smooth  forms,  oftenest  cutworms  (fig.  14)  and  others 
of  the  family  Noctuidse,  together  with  some  Greometridse  and  occa- 
sionally an  arctiid  or  a  sphingid. 
The  grasshoppers  were1  long- 
horned  grasshoppers  (Locustidse) 
and  short-horned  grasshoppers 
(Acrididse),  the  latter  consisting  of 
such  forms  a^  Hippiscm,  Mdano- 
j>!,is  atlanis,  Melanoplus  femur- 
rubrum,  and  Dissostetra  Carolina, 
the  former  largely  of  such  meadow 
grasshoppers  as  Xiphidium  and 
Scudderia,  with  an  occasional 
katydid.  Beetles  formed  twice  a^ 
large  an  element  of  food  as  any 
other  order  of  insects.  Ground- 
beetles  (Carabidae),  generally  considered  useful,  formed  2.10  percent  of 
the  food;  injurious  species,  largely  weevils  (Rhynchophora)  and  leaf- 
beetles  (Chrysomelidse),  and,  to  a  smaller  extent,  lamellicorn  and  longi- 
corn  beetles,  leaf-chafers,  click-beetles,  and  metallic  wood-borers 
(Buprestidse), amounted  to  13.25  percent;  while  miscellaneous  beetles, 
largely  dung-beetles  of  the  genera  Aphodius  (tig.  15),  Atmnius,  and 
Onthophagus,  and  beetles  of  a  number 
of  other  families,  such  as  the  Anthicida\ 
Bruchidee,  Byrrhid«,  Sisteridee,  Staphy- 
linidie.  and  Tenebrionidse,  completed  the 
remaining  3.27  percent  of  the  beetle  food. 
The  spiders  were  largely  the  ground- 
spiders  of  the  family  Lycosid®.  Spiders 
are  said  to  do  about  as  much  good  as 
harm,  and  are  usually  regarded  as  of  no 
economic  importance. 

Beneficial  insects  (predaceous  beetles 
and'  parasitic  wasps)  formed  3.97  per- 
cent of  the  food,  while  injurious  insects,  principally  caterpillars, 
grasshoppers,  and  harmful  beetles,  amounted  to  26.80  percent.  It 
will  be  remembered,  however,  that  what  has  already  been  said  about 
the  dot  ruction  of  useful  species  shows  that  but  a  small  fraction  of  the 
percentage  of  these  insects  should  really  be  counted  against  the  birds. 


Fio.  L5.— Dung-beetle  (Aphodius)  (after 
Prof.  s.  a.  Forbes). 


FOOD   OF    NE8TLINGS,  }:; 


FOOD    OF   NESTLINGS. 


The  largest  consumption  of  insects  is  to  be  credited,  not  to  adult 
birds,  but  to  young  ones  in  the  nest.  All  land  birds  at  Marshall  Hall 
except  birds  of  prey  and  doves,  whatever  be  their  own  diet,  feed 
their  young  chiefly  on  insects  from  the  time  they  are  hatched  until 
they  Leave  the  nest.  Many  species  rear  every  season  two  or  three 
broods  of  from  3  to  5  each,  and  so  voracious  are  these  wide-mouthed 
youngsters  that  the  parents  can  supply  their  wants  only  by  unremit- 
ting efforts.  Meals  often  begin  before  sunrise  and  continue  till  after 
sunset,  frequently  occurring  every  two  minutes.  At  first  nestlings 
take  considerably  more  than  their  own  weight  of  food  in  a  day.  and 
they  increase  in  weight  daily  from  20  to  50  percent.  The  number  of 
insects  required  to  supply  a  season's  host  of  nestlings  must  he  almost 
incalculable. 

Work  of  other  investigators. — One  can  best  study  the  food  of  young 
birds  by  field  observations.     Such  studies  have  been  pursued  by  Mr-. 

Wheelock.''  Dr.    Francis    II.    Herrick,6  and    Prof.  Clarence    M.    Weed.' 

Professor  Weed's  bulletin  on  the  feeding  habits  of  nestling  chipping 
sparrows  has  already  been  cited  at  length  in  Bulletin  L5  of  the 
Biological  Survev.  Dr.  Herrick  found  vouni»-  cedar  birds  tVd  bv 
their  parents  on  grasshoppers,  cicadas,  chokecherries,  raspberries, 
and  blueberries.  A  brood  of  red-eyed  vireos  were  given  blackberries, 
red  raspberries,  bugs,  beetles.  Iar\;e.  katydid-,  and  grasshoppers. 
Nestling  catbirds  were  nourished  with  red  cherries,  strawberries, 
larva1,  moth  millers,  beetles,  and  dragon-flies  (j&schna  heros&nd  L'<h,l- 
hiJn  pulchdla).  Young  bluebirds  were  fed  robber-flies  (Asilus),  larva1, 
crickets,  grasshoppers,  and  katydids.  Mrs.  Wheelock  states  that  she 
observed  nestling  red-headed  woodpeckers  eating  black  beetle-:  that 
marsh  wrens  bring  May-beetles  to  their  broods:  that  young  robins  are 
fed  moths  and  dragon-flies,  and  that  crows  give  frogs  and  nestling 
birds  (English  sparrows,  song  sparrows,  and  meadowlarks)  to  their 
young. 

Methods  of  investigation.  Mrs.  Wheelock's  excellent  results  were 
obtained  in  the  field  by  observing  the  nests  in  situ,  and  I  >r.  I  [errick's  by 
cutting  the  nests  down  and  placing  them  in  a  favorable  situation  for 
observation.  Both  of  these  method-  have  been  employed  at  Marshal] 
Hall.  The  choice  of  glasses  is  important.  Mrs.  Wheelockused  binoc- 
ulars in  studying  her  subject-.  These  were  used  at  Marshall  Hall 
with  the  best  success  in  the  case  of  very  active  shy  birds  or  those  in 
shadow.  A  Zeis-  monocular  L2-power  was  tried,  but  was  found  to 
be  useless  unless  there  was  an  abundance   o\'   strong  sunlight,  and 

a  Nestlings  of  Forest  and  Marsh,  I 
&Home  Life  of  Wild  Birds,  L901. 

< T.ull.  55,  N.  II.  A.gr.  Expt  Sta., 


44  BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

under  any  circumstances  not  so  desirable  as  had  been  anticipated.  A 
2-inch  telescope  with  a  single  draw  tube  proved  much  more  service- 
able. Working  with  it.  however,  is  very  slow  and  arduous  on  account 
of  its  limited  Held  and  the  difficulty  of  changing  the  focus  quickly. 

Grasshopper  Sparrow. — The  difficulties  encountered  in  the  use  of  the 
telescope  in  held  work  may  he  well  shown  by  a  somewhat  detailed 
account  of  its  use  in  the  following  instance:  On  duly  (.>.  1898,  a 
grasshopper  sparrow's  nest  containing  four  naked  young  birds  was 
found  in  a  bunch  of  rabbit-foot  clover  in  a  timothy  field  of  lot  1, 
several  rods  from  the  cow  barn.  The  male  parent  was  poised  on  a 
weed  stalk  at  no  great  distance,  rattling  out  his  dry  ditty,  never  once 
stopping  to  help  the  mother  bird,  which  was  making  frequent  jour- 
neys for  food.  The  latter,  on  seeing  me,  perched  on  a  dead  mullein 
stalk  20  to  30  feet  away,  instead  of  carrying  to  her  little  ones  the 
mouthful  she  held.  The  telescope  was  immediately  focused.  It 
enlarged  the  mother  bird  so  much  that  she  appeared  to  be  peering  in 
at  the  end  of  the  instrument.  The  object  in  her  bill  was  seen  to  be  of 
a  delicate  green  color,  but  before  further  observation  could  be  made 
she  flew  to  the  top  of  a  blackberry  bush'.  Here,  by  fragmentary 
glimpses,  during  which  it  was  necessaiy  to  change  the  focus  several 
times,  a  narrow  wing  cover  and  a  long,  slim  leg  were  discerned,  which 
showed  that  the  insect  belonged  to  the  order  Orthoptera  (grasshop- 
pers, crickets,  etc.).  The  bird  next  returned  to  her  perch  on  the  mul- 
lein stalk,  where  she  remained  long  enough  to  enable  the  telescope  to 
reveal,  projecting  from  the  beak  on  tin4  side  opposite  the  leg  and  wing, 
two  filiform  antennas  which  exceeded  the  body  in  length  and  furnished 
the  necessary  clew  to  the  insect's  identity  as  a  meadow  grasshopper. 
Further  observations  were  made,  with  the  same  interruptions  and 
demands  upon  the  patience.  In  the  next  two  trips  sin1  brought  the 
same  insects.  She  next  came  with  a  cutworm,  then  with  a  chrysalis, 
and  later  with  two  short-horned  grasshoppers  {Melanoplus  and  I)iss<>- 
teira).  The  meager  riess  of  these  results,  considering  the  time  required 
for  obtaining  the  information,  was  due  to  the  restless  uneasiness  of 
the  grasshopper  sparrow  and  the  location  of  the  nest  in  an  open  Geld 
where  no  cover  for  the  observer  was  available  to  reduce  the  bird's 
apprehension.  Observation  of  a  house  wren  (see  p.  45)  was  conducted 
under  more1,  favorable  conditions  and  was  much  more  satisfactory.  No 
nestling  grasshopper  sparrows  were  collected  at  Marshall  Hall,  but  14 
from  other  localities  have  been  examined,  and  diagrams  that  were  made 
of  their  food  and  of  that  of  10  adults  taken  at  the  same  time  show  the 
great  importance  of  insects  in  the  food  of  nestlings." 

Orchard  Oriole.  —A  few  observations  were  made  of  a  brood  of  wrell- 
feathered  orchard  orioles  in  a  black-walnut  tree  near  the  negro  cabin. 

a  These  diagrams  were  published  in  an  article  entitled  The  Food  of  Nestling  Birds, 
which  appeared  in  the  Yearbook  <>f  the  Dept.  <»i  Agriculture  for  1900. 


Food    OF    NESTLINGS. 


L5 


July  L8,  L898.  The  male  parent,  a  bird  in  greenish  plumage,  did  not 
help  to  provide  for  the  young,  but  appeared  to  think  that  his  sole  duty 
consisted  in  coming  t<>  the  tree  occasionally  and  singing.  The  mother 
worked  incessantly.  It  was  difficult  to  identify  whal  she  brought, 
because  she  was  so  shy  and  remained  at  the  oesl  so  brief  a  timi  I 
had  to  stand  close  to  the  tree  and  focus  the  glass  <>n  her  when  Bhe  was 
nervously  hopping  from  branch  t<>  branch.  Working  under  these 
difficulties  I  was  able  to  identify  but  2  caterpillars,  3  May-flies,  -i  short- 
horned  grasshoppers,  and  3  meadow  grasshoppers. 

House  Wren.  —The  mosl  satisfactory  and  continued  observations  were 
made  June  17.  L899,  of  some  young  house  wrens  that  were  about 
three-fourths  grown.  In  this  case  it  was  found  desirable  to  remove 
the  not.  which  was  in  a  cavity  in  a  Locust  tree,  transfer  it  to  a  baking- 
powder  can.  and  nail  the  can  to  the  trunk  of  the  tree  about  4  feet 
from  the  ground.     The  following  i-  a  detailed  account  of  the  feeding: 

Feeding  ofta  i>r<«><i  of  house  wrens: 


A.  M. 

A.    If. 

5.55. 

<  rreen  caterpillar  (  Heliothis  'li/>*<i- 

8.24. 

C,    n, 

8.29. 

5.56. 

May-fly. 

3.30. 

6.00. 

May-fly. 

6.02. 

Undetermined. 

S.38. 

6.05. 

Heliothis  dipsaa  us. 

S.4U 

•servations  suspended  till 

7. I'D  a.   in. 

7.21. 

Undetermined. 

8.45. 

■   7.23. 

May-fly. 

8.46. 

,    (Observations  suspended  till 

7.45  a.  m.) 

S.47. 

7.46. 

Elarvestman  ( Phalang 

idae). 

B.48. 

7.47. 

i 

May-fly. 

8.49. 

7.4s. 

Undetermined  insect. 

7.49. 

Undetermined. 

B.521 

7.51. 

Undetermined. 

B.55. 

7.55. 

Undetermined. 

7.56. 

Undetermined. 

7.57. 

Undetermined. 

9.03. 

7.57*. 

Undetermined. 

'.'.ii.-). 

S.  II.  l.l. 

Undetermined. 

•.'.ID. 

8.01. 

Undetermined. 

9.13. 

8.03. 

Undetermined. 

9.17. 

Undetermined. 

9.20. 

Heliothis  dipsaceus. 

'.LIT). 

Undetermined  insect 

8.11. 

Undetermined  insect. 

9.30. 

8.13*. 

Brown  caterpillar. 

'.i.::7. 

8.16. 

Undetermined  insect. 

8.18. 

Undetermined  insect. 

8.20. 

Undetermined  insect. 

'.».::!'. 

Undetermined  insect. 

8.23. 

Two  May-flies. 

May-fly. 

Brown  orthopterous  insect 

Heliothis  dipsaceus. 

Undetermined. 

( Caterpillar. 

May-fly. 

May-fly. 

Brown  caterpillar  (cutworm?). 

//-  liothis  dipsac*  us. 

Undetermined  insect. 

Undetermined  insect. 

Undetermined  insect 

Undetermined  insect 

Cutworm  (?). 

//-  liothis  dipsac 

Undetermined  insect. 

Pentatomid  bug  i  X>  taraf). 

Cutworm  (?). 

Cutworm. 

Caterpillar    Acronycta  oblinita). 

Browu  soldier  bug. 

Green  caterpillar  i  noctuid  ). 

White  grub. 

( 'lay-colored  grasshopper. 

<  rrasshopper. 

Undetermined  insect. 

(Tw<>  cabbage  worms  placed  on 

6  ige  ol  tin  can.1) 
Acronycta  oblinita. 
II,  liothis  dipsaci  ■  - ,      Refuse  I 

bage  worm. ) 
May-fly. 


46 

HIKI 

►8    OF 

A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

/•'. ,  ding 

of  a  brood  of  housi  wrens — Continued. 

A.  M. 

9.46. 

( rrasshopper. 

A.M. 

11.02. 

May-fly. 

9.46. 

Cutworm, 

11.023 

May-fly. 

9.50. 

<  rrasshopper  |  Melanoplus). 

11.15. 

Green  caterpillar. 

9.52. 

Saw-fly  larva  (?). 

11.20. 

Miller  (noctuid). 

9.54. 

Miller  (noctuid). 

11.2L 

I  .lack  chrysalis. 

9.55. 

II, liothis  dipsaa  us. 

L1.22. 

Saw-fly  larva  (?). 

9.57. 

Heliothis  dipsaa  us. 

11.25. 

Spider. 

10.00. 

Spider. 

11.26. 

( rrasshopper  (  Mi  lanoplus). 

10.01. 

Heliothis  dipsaa  us. 

11.30. 

Heliothis  dipsaa  us. 

10.05. 

Black  chrysalis. 

11.30*. 

May-fly. 

10.08. 

Cutworm. 

11.32. 

Spider. 

10.15.. 

Spider. 

11.34. 

( hrasshopper  (Melanoplus). 

10.16. 

Caterpillar. 

11.34.]. 

Saw-fly  larva  (?). 

10.20. 

May-fly. 

11.36. 

.  [cronycta  oblinita. 

10.23. 

Spider. 

11.39*. 

May-fly. 

10.26. 

Clay-colored  grasshopper. 

11.47. 

Cutworm. 

10.29. 

Clay-colored  grasshopper  nymph. 

11.48. 

May-fly. 

10.30. 

Acronycta  oblinita. 

11.50. 

Cutworm. 

10.35. 

Green  caterpillar. 

11.51. 

Heliothis  dipsaa  us  (2). 

10.38. 

J Tel "i 'otitis  dipsaceus. 

11.59. 

Heliothis  dipsaceus. 

10.41. 

IT  Hot  his  dipsaa  us. 

P.  M. 

10.46. 

Clay-colored  grass]  i 

opper. 

12.02. 

Heliothis  dipsaceus. 

10.48. 

Spider. 

12.06. 

Spider. 

L0.50. 

Miller  (noctuid). 

12.07. 

IT  Hot  his  dipsaa  us. 

L0.52. 

Clay-colored  grassh< 

)p])crnyni])h. 

12.09. 

( 'utworui. 

10.54. 

Miller  (noctuid). 

12.11. 

Spider. 

The  mother  wren  thus  made  110  visits  to  her  tittle  ones  in  four 
hours  and  thirty-seven  minutes,  and  fed  them  11 1  insects  and  spiders. 
Among  these  were  identified  1  white  grub,  1  soldier  bug,  3  millers 
(Noctuidae),  U  spiders.  9  grasshoppers,  15  May-flies,  and  34  caterpil- 
lars. On  the  following  day  similar  observations  were  made  from  9.35 
a.  m.  till  12.40  p.  m.,  and  in  the  three  hours  and  five  minutes  the  young 
were  fed  67  times.  Spiders  were  identified  in  1  instances,  grasshop- 
pers in  5,  May-flies  in  17,  and  caterpillars  in  20. 

Previous  to  the  observation  of  this  brood  of  wrens  a  collection  of 
adult  and  nestling  wrens  was  made.  Their  food  is  shown  in  diagrams 
(PI.  IX,  %.  1). 

Barn  Swallow. — The  food  of  seven  nestling  barn  swallows  (tig.  L6) 
collected  June  17,  1891),  consisted  of  beetles  (Onthophagus  pennsyl- 
vcmlcus,  Aphodvus  inquinatvs,  Agrilus  sp.,  and  Rhynchophora),  para- 
sitic wasps  (Chalets  sp.,  Ichneumonidee  and  Tiphia  inomata)  and  Hies 
(Leptidse,  C/u\//.snj,.s  sp.,  Lucilia  <■;<*(//■  and  other  Muscidse),  bugs 
(Capsidee),  May-flies,  and  snails.  The  vertebrae  of  some  small  fish, 
which  may  have  been  taken  to  aid  the  gizzard  in  digesting  the  food. 
were  also  found  in  the  stomachs. 

Bank  Swallow. — An  examination  was  made  of  the  stomachs  of  83 
young  bank  swallows  collected  a  few  miles  above  Marshall  Hall  from 


FOOD    OF    NESTLINGS. 


17 


a  colony  in  the  face  of  the  river  bluff.  They  were  probably  the  prog- 
eny of  the  -wallow-  that  frequently  circled  over  the  farm.  The  food 
of*  the  nestlings  and  that  of  adults  collected  during  the  nesting  season 
i-  shown  in  diagrams  (PI.  IX.  fig.  2). 

Purple  martin-,  which  came  from  a  colony  of  somewhat  more  than 
a  dozen  pairs  nesting  in  boxes  on  pole-  at  Bryan's  Point,  a  mile  above 
the  house,  were  often  seen  circling  about  the  farm.  On  June  28,  L902, 
1  visited  the  colony  and  found  the  parent  birds  feeding  the  young  -<>I- 
dier  bugs,  ant-,  fig-eaters  (AllorJwna  nitida),  and  dragon-flies  (Zibellicla 
and  Agrionidse). 


- — i 


4»f 


Pig.  16.— Barn  swallow. 


Three  young  downy  woodpecker-  which  were  collected  May  28, 
1896,  had  fed  principally  on  ants,  but  had  also  eaten  spider-,  ground 
beetles,  and  caterpillars. 

Catbird.  The  difference  between  the  food  of  adults  and  young 
belonging  to  a  highly  frugivorous  species  is  well  illustrated  in  the 
case  of  the  catbird,  and  is  shown  in  diagrams  (PI.  IX.  fig.  3),  which 
were  made  principally  from  results  obtained  at  Marshall  Hall. 

Crow  and  Crow  Blackbird.  Such  granivorous  birds  as  crow-  and 
crow  blackbirds  feed  their  young  mainly  insect-.     Sufficient  material 


18 


BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 


to  illustrate  this  habit  was  not  available  at  Marshall  Hall,  but  the 
diagrams  here  given  (figs.  17  and  L8),  based  on  results  obtained 
elsewhere,0  will  serve  to  show  it.  By  the  time  the  young  are  ready 
to  leave  the  nest,  however,  they  are  fed  to  a  large  extent  on  either 
grain  or  fruit,  according  to  locality.  In  tin4  Middle  West  they  take 
grain  and  in  the  East  generally  fruit.     Both  crows  and  crow  black- 


7  DAYS  OR  LESS 


1  TO  2  WEEKS  OLD 

17 


3WEEKS   AND  OLDER  ADULT 

Pig.  17.— Diagram  showing  proportions  of  food  of  American  crow  ( Corvwamericamts),  young  and  adult 

birds  do  greal  service  by  feeding  to  their  young  not  only  cutworms 
and  grasshoppers,  bu<  also  large  numbers  of  weevils  and  May-beetles. 


GENERAL  REMARKS. 


Consumption  of  caterpillars  and  grasshoppers  is  the  Largest  benefit 

derived  from  the  presence  of  nestlings  on  the  farm.     The  parent  birds 


a  Most  of  the  stomachs  of  young  and  adult  crows  used  ixi  the  investigation  on 
which  the  results  shown  in  the  diagram  arc  based  wen-  obtained  al  Sandy  Spring, 
Mil.:  and  most  of  those  of  young  and  adul1  crow  blackbirds  came  from  Onaga,  Kans. 


Bull.  17,  Biological  Survey,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture 


Plate  IX. 


NESTLING.  Fig.   1.— House  Wren.  ADULT. 

[1,  Cutworm  ;  2,  spider  •  3,  stink-bug  ;   I.  May-fly  ;  •">,  weevil  ;  6,  grasshopper.] 


NESTLING.  Fig.   2.— Bank  Swallow.  ADULT. 

[1,  Weevil ;  2,  ichneumon  fly  ;  3,  winged  ant  ;  1,  fly  ;  5,  dragon-fly  :  6,  stink-bug. 


NESTLING.  Fig.  3.— Catbird.  ADULT. 

[1,  Qround-beetle  ;  2,  cutworm  ;  :;,  ant ;  i,  grasshopper ;  5,  spidi 
Food  of  Nestlings  and  Adults  of  Three  Common  Birds. 

[The  diagrams  -how  the  proportions  ol  the  various  orders  of  insect-  in  tlie  food,  eaeh  order 
bein^  represented  by  the  insecl  belonging  to  it  that  is  most  commonly  eaten  by  the  bird  \\  hose 
food  is  shown,      in  the  case  of  the  Hymenoptera  a  division  i-  sometimes  made  between  the 

parasitic  members  of  the  order,  which  are  very  useful,  and  those  that  are  neutral  or  injurious. 
The  figures  of  insects  are  reduced  from  cuts  kindly  loaned  by  I»r.  I.,  o.  Howard,  ij 


Bull.  17,  Biological  Survey,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agiiculture. 


Plate  X. 


"" 


F13.  1  .—Red-tailed  Hawk. 


-Short-eared  Owl. 


l-uui)    OF    NESTLINGS. 


•!'.' 


hunt  out  these  insects  when  they  are  not  abundant  ana  even  when  t In •  \ 
uiv  rare.  At  the  time  of  the  foregoing  observations  of  orchard  orioles, 
house  wrens,  and  grasshopper  sparrows,  caterpillars  and  grasshoppers 
were  comparatively  scarce;  yet  the  parent  birds,  though  they  chose 
bisects  for  their  own  eating  from  more  abundant  species,  hunted  far 
and  wide  for  these  ran1  ones  to  feed  their  young.     At   Marshall  Hall 


NEWLY  HATCHED 


HALF   GROWN 


NEARLY    FLEDGED 

Pig.  18.— I>iiiuTaiti  showing  proportions  i 


ADULT 

>f  food  of  crow  blackbird  (QuUcalus  quiscula  smeus),  jroun 
and  adult. 


the  protection  and  encouragement  of  birds  at  nesting  time  is  of  prime 
importance.  Adults  of  the  most  numerous  species  on  the  farm  are 
either  highly  frugivorous  or  highly  granivorous,  hence  the  insectiv- 
orous habits  of  nestlings  help  considerably  to  establish  the  beneficent 

relation  of  birds  to  the  farm  economy. 
7222  -  No.  L7— 02 4 


50  BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

III.— VERTEBRATE  FOOD. 
POULTRY  AND  GAME. 

Crows. — Certain  species  of  the  larger  birds  were  found  to  take  ver- 
tebrate food.  ( 'rows  and  sonic  of  the  hawks  and  owls  destroyed  useful 
small  birds  and  also  game  and  poultry.  On  the  Hungerford  farm 
crows  were  observed  killing  newly-hatched  turkeys,  and  on  the  Bryan 

farm  they  were  not  uncommonly  seen  carrying  off  little  chickens. 
The  most  serious  offense  against  the  poultry  interest,  however,  was 
the  habitual  stealing  of  eggs.  During  April,  1900,  a  crow  came  every 
day  and  robbed  a  hen's  nest  in  the  side  of  a  hayrick  at  a  little  distance 
from  buildings.  Often  he  would  be  seen  waiting  on  a  fence  near  bv 
until  the  hen  announced  that  the  egg  had  been  laid,  when  lie  would 
dash  down  and  make  off  with  his  boot)-.  Such  depredations  could  be 
avoided  by  furnishing  the  hens  with  such  facilities  that  they  would  up 
longer  lay  in  exposed  situations.  As  it  is,  incessant  war  upon  the 
crow  is  necessary  to  prevent  heav}T  loss  to  poultry  on  this  farm.  ( fame 
birds  also  suffer.  On  May  15. 1900,  a  crow  was  caught  on  the  forested 
slope  beyond  tin1  swamp  (PL  VII,  tig.  *2)  in  the  act  of  pillaging  the 
nest  of  a  ruffed  grouse.  Crows  also  despoiled  the  nest  of  a  bobwhite, 
a  species  which  probably  suffers  oftener  than  the  ruffed  grouse. 

Eagle. — The  bald  eagles  that  are  frequently  seen  at  Marshall  Hall 
do  not  disdain  to  pick  up  a  little  game  now  and  then.  Early  in  March. 
1897,  a  crippled  scaup  duck  was  seen  in  the  river  a  hundred  yards 
from  the  house  chased  by  an  eagle  and  diving  every  time  its  pursuer 
swooped  down  on  it.  When  the  quarry  was  almost  tired  out  the  eagle 
was  -hot.  and  fell  into  the  river  with  a  broken  wing,  but  it  had  suffi- 
cient strength  left  to  lacerate  a  pointer  that  attempted  to  retrieve  it. 
On  November  15,1900,  an  eagle  was  seen  flying  over  the  house  gripping 
in  its  talons  a  live  coot,  which  turned  its  head  rapidly  from  side  to  side 
in  its  struggles  to  escape.  During  the  hunting  season  eagles  get  a 
good  part  of  their  food  by  picking  up  wounded  ducks.  They  also 
prey  on  domesticated  ducks.  In  the  first  week  of  August.  L896,  they 
carried  off  several  ducklings  that  went  down  to  the  swamp.  The 
royal  brigands  relish  chicken,  and  in  the  nest  of  one  pair  thai  came  to 
the  farm  was  the  carcass  of  a  recently  killed  Plymouth  Rock  hen. 

Cooper  Hawk. — With  the  exception  of  the  English  sparrow,  the 
Cooper  hawk  dig.  L9)  probably  does  the  least  good  and  the  most  harm 
of  all  the  birds  of  the  farm,  for  it  subsists  almost  entirely  on  wild 
birds  and  poultry.  It  very  frequently  steals  little  chickens,  and  con- 
stantly preys  on  the  bobwhite  and  useful  insectivorous  or  seed-eating 
small  birds.  During  November,  L900,  the  bobwhites  were  so  perse- 
cuted that  they  were  seldom  found  far  from  cover.  In  one  instance  a 
hawk  was  seen  to  swoop   to   the  ground  and  rise  with  a  victim,  the 


YKR'l  EBRATE    !■'<><  >i>. 


51 


identity  of  which  was  afterwards  made  sure  by  the  discover}  of  the 
feathers  of  a  cock  bobwhite  <>n  the  spot  where  the  hawk  had  struck. 

Sharpshinned  Hawk.  -The  sharpshinned  hawk,  congener  of  the 
Cooper  hawk,  is  also  a  harmful  species.  It  was  frequently  observed 
pursuing  native  sparrows,  and  on  November  L5,  L900,  was  seen  tearing 
a  mockingbird  to  pieces.  The  smaller  birds  suffer  most  in  autumn. 
On  the  L5th  of  November,  L899,  I  was  observing  a  score  of  cardinals, 
juncos,  white-throated  sparrows,   fox   sparrows,  and  song   sparrows 


Fie  19.— Cooper  hawk. 

that  were  eating  ragweed  >^rd  in  wheat  stubble  by  the  negro  cabin. 
Suddenly  the  whole  flock'  sprang  into  the  air  and  Hew  straight  toward 

me  and  into  the  Imshes  behind  me,  twittering  with  fright.  Their 
swiftness  just  saved  them  from  a  sharpshinned  hawk,  which  swooped 
and  struck  the  ground  where  they  had  been  feeding.  It  was  two 
hours  before  they  dared  to  leave  their  shelter  and  \\hh\  again  on  weed 

seeds  of  the  stubble-field.     These  two  species  of  hawks  patrol  the  farm 


52 


IUKD-    OF    A     MARYLAND    FARM. 


so  vigilantly  in  autumn  and  winter  that  birds  which  cat  weed  seed  are 
kept  in  constant  terror,  and  are  unable  to  do  all  the  good  they  might 
accomplish  were  it  not  for  their  tireless  enemies.  Owing  to  the 
depredations  of  these  two  hawks,  all  hawks  without  distinction  have 
been  relentlessly  persecuted  by  man.  although  very  few  are  actually 
detrimental  to  agriculture. 

Great  Horned  Owl. —Only  one  of   the  several   species  of  owls  occur- 
ring at  Marshal]  Hall  is  harmful,  namely,  the  great  horned  owl  (tig.  20). 


Fig.  20.— Great  horned  owl. 


It  occasionally  makes  inroads  on  poultry  that  is  not  housed.  In 
December,  ls'.»7.  a  great  horned  owl  carried  oil  a  full-grown  hen  from 
her  roost  in  ;i  tree  beside  the  oegro  cabin,  and  on  five  of  the  first  ten 
nights  of  May  one  came  and  took  hens  from  the  cedar  trees  behind  the 
house.  On  the  night  of  the  sixth  visit  a  steel  trap  baited  with  a  hen 
secured  the  robber.  A  year  seldom  passes  without  losses  from  this 
tierce  and  powerful  bird  <>f  prey. 


VERTEBRATE    Food.  58 

FISH. 

Several  species  of  birds  on  the  farm  are  known  to  feed  on  fish,  but 

(hey  are  so  few  in  number  and  take  food  fishes  so  seldom  thai  as  far 
as  has  been  learned  they  cause  no  material  injury  to  fishing  interests, 
which  at  this  point  on  the  river  are  of  considerable  importance.  A 
pair  of  kingfishers  were  often  seen  fishing  along  the  shore  in  front  oi 
the  Bryan  house  (PI.  III.  fig.  2),  and  live  nestlings  taken  from  the  hi  nil' 
on  the  Hungerford  place  had  been  fed  wholly  on  fish.  Herons,  includ- 
ing the  nighl  heron,  the  green  heron,  and  the  great  blue  heron,  were 
frequently  seen  wading  in  shallow  water,  spearing  fish  with  their  long, 
pointed  beaks.  Two  green  herons  that  were  collected  had  eaten  sil- 
versides  (Menidia  rwtatd)  and  mummichogs  (JFundidits  heteroclitvs). 
Ducks,  particularly  the  mergansers,  U\^\  to  some  extent  on  fish.  Two 
hooded  mergansers,  collected  November  1.").  1900,  had  eaten  respect- 
ively L2  and  *j!<»  tiny  fish.  Gulls  are  decidedly  more  piscivorous  than 
ducks.  During  November  the  herring  gull  and  the  ring-billed  gull 
fished  by  the  dozen  out  in  the  river  between  the  farmhouse  and  Mount 
Vernon  (see  PL  1.  frontispiece  tig.  2).  In  the  same  place  the  osprey 
waspnee  in  a  while  seen  plunging  after  his  prey.  The  bald  eagle  was 
observed  catching  fish,  hut  more  often  it  feeds  on  those  that  it  fin  da 
dead. 

CARRION. 

Some  birds,  notably  eagles,  crows,  and  buzzards,  feed  at  times 
largely  on  dead  fish.  Eagles  may  be  seen  along  the  river  -canning  the 
shore  for  those  cast  up  by  the  tide.  May  19,  1S99,  an  eagle  living 
over  the  farm  dropped  an  eel  26  inches  long  that  had  evidently  been 
taken  as  carrion.  Gulls,  also,  undoubtedly  pick  up  a  good  deal  of 
.such  food.  Crows  and  buzzards  are  valuable  scavengers  of  dead  fish 
cast  up  at  low  tide  during  the  last  of  April  and  the  first  of  .May.  when 
the  fishing  season  is  at  its  height.  These  fish  are  small,  principally 
sun-fish,  white  perch,  and  shad,  that  were  fatally  injured  by  nets 
Observations  on  May  5,  L901,  showed  the  whole  river  front  of  the 
farm  strewn  with  decaying  fish,  which  gave  out  such  a  stench  that  one 
could  not  sit  comfortably  within  several  hundred  yards  of  the  beach. 
Some  4(1  buzzards  were  feeding  on  the  carrion  ail  day.  On  (dose 
inspection  they  were  seen  to  be  selecting  that  which  was  most  badly 
decomposed.  Crows  in  almost  as  large  number-  and  several  crow 
blackbirds  were  also  feeding,  but  they  commonly  took  that  which  was 

Less  decayed.  Several  crows  came  repeatedly  to  the  shoreof  lot  1. 
picked  up  fish,  and  carried  them  to  their  nests  in  the  woods.  By 
abating  this  nuisance  crows  and  buzzards  do  a  service  that  is  appre- 
ciated by  the.  occupants  of  the  farmhouse. 

Buzzards  are  also  useful   in    removing   other  carrion.      Stock   that 
dies  on  the  farm  is  never  buried,  but  is  left  for  them.     November  16, 


54  BIRDS    OF    A     MARYLAND    FARM. 

L899,  some  notes  were  made  on  the  manner  in  which  a  carcass  was 
disposed  of.  On  the  edge  of  lot  1.  near  the  mouth  of  Persimmon 
Branch,  lav  a  horse  that   had  died  two  weeks  before.     Fully  30  buz- 

zards  closely  attended  it.  and  some  were  to  he  found  at  work  on  it  at 
any  hour  of  the  day.  while  the  other.-,  tired  of  gorging,  sat  around 
on  a  rail  fence,  stretching  their  wings  and  preening.  At  night  they 
all  roosted  together  in  oak  trees  within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  horse, 
as  if  they  wished  to  keep  near  the  food.  A  year  later  another  horse  was 
given  over  to  the  buzzards.  The  buzzards  did  not  in  either  ease  tear 
open  the  skin  to  expose  the  large  muscles,  but  if  the  weather  had  been 
hot  they  might  have  eaten  these  as  well  as  viscera.  Crowsare  seldom 
known  to  feed  on  dead  stock,  hut  during  the  March  blizzard  of  1898 
they  were  almost  starved,  and  resorted  with  buzzards  to  a  dead  cow. 
Buzzards  dispose  of  the  entrails  and  other  refuse  of  pigs,  fish,  and 
chickens,  which  are  thrown  to  them  in  a  certain  place  where  they 
have  learned  to  expect  it. 

MAMMALS. 

Mice. — The  crow  and  several  other  birds  of  the  farm  do  some  good 
by  destroying  injurious  mammals.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  storage  barn 
a  loggerhead  shrike  was  often  to  be  seen.  Here  it  impaled  its  prey  on 
thorns  of  the  Osage  orange  hedge  and  on  the  barbs  of  a  wire  fence.  In 
one  instance  a  house  mouse  was  found  spitted  on  the  fence.  If  extended 
observations  could  have  been  made  it  is  probable  that  mice  would  often 
have  been  found  in  the  larder  of  this  useful  little  shrike.  The  crow 
takes  mice  at  every  opportunity.  On  February  21,  L900,  signs  of  its 
work  appeared  near  the  runways  of  meadow  mice  in  a  wheat-stubble 
patch  of  lot  5.  in  the  form  of  crow  tracks  in  the  light  snow,  holes 
pecked  in  the  earth,  and  at  one  place  spatters  of  blood  and  tufts  of 
mouse  hail'.  Hawks  feed  habitually  on  these  mice.  In  January. 
L898,  when  there  were  several  inches  of  snow  on  the  ground,  a  red- 
tailed  hawk  (PL  X,  fig.  1)  shot  in  the  road  by  the  negro  cabin  held  in 
its  talons  the  warm  body  of  a  meadow  mouse.  November  L5,  L900,  a 
marsh  hawk  skimming  over  lot  2 suddenly  dived  into  the  brownbroom- 
sedge.  AlS  it  rose  it  was  killed  and  a  meadow  mouse  dropped  from  its 
clutch.  In  its  stomach  the  head  and  hindquarters  of  another  were 
found.  This  species  of  hawk  Is  undoubtedly  the  most  useful  mouser 
on  th<>  farm  and  should  have  due  credit,  for  mice  cause  much  injury 
there  to  fruit  trees,  sweet  potatoes,  and  grain.  The  short-eared  owl 
(PL  X.  tig.  2)  has  several  times  been  observed  preying  upon  meadow 
mice.  Chis  bird,  the  marsh  hawk,  and  the  red-shouldered  hawk,  which 
are  all  excellent  mousers  and  rarely  attack  poultry  or  birds,  are  con- 
tinually made  to  pay  with  their  lives  for  the  depredations  of  the  real 
poultry  thieves  of  the  hawk  and  owl  tribe  the  Cooper  and  sharp- 
shinned  hawks  and  the  great  horned  owl.     The  illustration  of  a  short- 


CULTIVATED    FRUIT. 

oared  owl  heregiven  is  of  a  bird  that  had  just  made  vicarious  atonement 
lor  depredations  on  the  poultry  by  the  great  horned  owl. 

Rabbits.  The  marsh  hawk  and  other  large  species  prey  on  rabbits. 
In  the  last  week  of  December,  L89T,  a  marsh  hawk  was  shot  which  had 
lust  killed  one  of  unusual  >i/.<-.  The  crow  regularly  tV<MU  on  young 
rabbits.  On  March  27,  L901,  several  crows  that  were  congregated  in 
some  grass  land  at  a  point  L50 yards  behind  the  house  were  frightened 
away.  An  empty  rabbit's  nest  found  on  the  spot  and  stains  of  blood 
on  the  broom-sedge  told  what  they  had  been  doing.  The  rabbit  is  i 
nuisance  on  the  farm.  It  often  ruins  hotbeds  of  sweet  potatoes,  cuts 
tortuous  paths  through  wheat  fields,  and  nibbles  cabbages  and  turnip-. 
Not  more  than  20  miles  from  Mar-hall  Hall  rabbits  girdled  and  killed 
8,000  young  pear  tree-  in  an  orchard  of  4.000  within  two  months. 

The  food  of  the  645  birds  examined  show-  only  L.72  percent  of  ver- 
tebrate food.  The  reason  for  so  small  a  proportion  is  the  fact  that 
the  collection  included  only  L9  bird-  that  could  be  expected  to  feed  on 

tle.-h. 

IV.- FRUIT. 

CULTIVATED    VARIETIES. 

Fruit  forms  with  many  common  birds  an  important  element  of 
food.  Of  the  645  stomachs  of  native  birds  collected  at  Marshall  Hall 
l39  contained  either  wild  or  cultivated  fruit.     The  greatest  interest 

naturally  center-  in  the  cultivated  varieties. 

Strawberries.- -The  earliest  fruit  on  the  farm  is  the  strawberry.  It 
usually  ripen-  about  the  middle  of  May  and  would  naturally  he 
expected  to  tempt  the  birds.  With  a  view  to  measuring  their  depre- 
dations on  the  crop,  two  visits  were  made  to  Marshall  Hull  between 
the  L3th  and  the  20th  of  May  of  L899  and  1900.  A  strawberry  patch 
in  the  Bryan  kitchen  garden  was  watched  for  several  days  in  the 
early  morning,  when  bird-  were  feeding  most  busily,  but  although 
catbirds,  orchard  oriole-,  and  other  notably  frugivorous  species  were 
all  around  the  patch,  not  one  of  the  birds  entered  it  for  berries.  On 
the  Hungerford  place,  adjacent  to  the  wooded  dell  tenanted  by  the 
colony  of  crow  blackbirds  already  referred  to.  there  wa-  a  Large 
strawberry  patch,  from  around  which  were  collected  L3  blackbird-.  \:\ 
catbirds,  and  '2  orchard  orioles,  but  only  one  of  them,  a  catbird,  had 
eaten  strawberries.  On  the  previous  day  the  patch  wa-  watched  for 
Several  hours.      Only  a  solitary  catbird  entered    it  and  he  did  not  take 

a  berry.  These  and  other  observations  showed  that  bird-  at  Marshall 
Hall  did  not  harm  the  strawberry  crop,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  pro- 
tected it  by  destroying  ground-beetles,  which,  as  ha-  been  said,  injure 
the  fruit.  If  catbird-  were  fond  of  strawberries,  they  would  have 
made  sad  havoc  on  these   farms,  for  they  fairly   swarmed   amid  the 


BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

tangled  vegetation  on  the  river  front  (PI.  [V,  tig.  1).  Their  liking 
for  fruit  i-  well  known,  unci  it  seems  strange  that  they  should  pre* 
fer  winter-cured  smilax  berries  to  strawberries;  yet  of  L3  individuals 

collected  ;it  thi-  time  5  had  eaten  smilax  berries  that  had  hung  on 
the  bushes  all  winter. 

Cherries.  During  cherry  time  227  birds  were  collected,  23  of  which. 
comprising  crows,  crow  blackbirds,  catbird-,  cedar  birds,  brown  thrash- 
ers, and  kingbirds,  had  fed  on  cherries  and  little  else.  Cherries  ripen 
from  the  30th  of  May  to  the  15th  of  June  and  remain  on  the  tree-  for 
about  a  month.  Some  interesting  field  observations  corroborated  the 
results  of  the  examination.  On  the  Bryan  farm  cherry  tree-  are  -o 
numerous  that  an  observer  can  not  keep  track  of  the  birds  that  fly  to 
them,  but  on  the  Hungerford  farm,  where  the  trees  are  few.  there  is  no 
difficulty  in  taking  notes.  One  large  black  ox-heart  tree  in  a  hedge 
row  several  hundred  yards  from  the  river  wa-  watched  dune  L5,  L899. 
From  sunrise  till  sunset  there  was  seldom  an  interval  of  ten  minutes 
when  it  was  empty.  Catbirds  flew  up  to  it  from  the  matted  vines 
on  the  river  front;  thrashers  came  from  inland  thickets;  and  king- 
birds Hew  over  from  apple  and  pear  orchards.  A  flock  of  half  a 
dozen  cedar  birds  every  now  and  then  came  to  it  and  fed  eagerly,  and 
a  crow  made  it  a  base  of  supplies  for  her  greedy  brood  in  a  neighbor 
ing  sycamore.  The  colony  of  crow  blackbirds  that  had  nested  in  the 
adjacent  dell  were,  however,  the  most  regular  and  frequent  visitors. 
They  had  taken  their  recently  fledged  young  to  a  swamp  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  away,  and  all  day  long  ilew  back  and  forth  in  a  'bee  line*  between 
that  and  the  cherry  tree,  often  meeting  one  another  in  the  journey  and 
sometime-  numbering  three  or  four  in  the  tree  at  one  time. 

A-  an  experiment  looking  toward  the  possible  protection  of  cherries, 
a  screech  owl  with  a  clipped  wing  was  placed  in  a  cherry  tree  near  the 
Bryan  farmhouse.  Several  catbirds  that  came  to  pillage  madeanout- 
cry  at  first,  but  soon  attacked  the  cherries,  regardless  of  the  owl.  An 
English  sparrow,  a  red-eyed  vireo.  and  two  orchard  orioles  that  entered 
the  tree  were  at  first  much  disturbed,  but  were  all  eating  cherried 
within  fifteen  minutes.  Since  the  screech  owl  does  not  feed  on  birds 
to  a  considerable  extent,  they  probably  did,  not  recognize  in  him  a 
dangerous  enemy.  The  presence  of  a  great  horned  owl  or  a  Coopei 
hawk  would  doubtless  have  had  a  completely  deterrent  effect.  The 
cherry  crop  at  Marshall  Hall  is  not  marketed,  nor  is  one  hundredth 
of  it  ever  picked;  the  proportion  consumed  by  birds  is.  consequently, 
of  no  economic  importance. 

Other  orchard  fruit.  When  the  cherry  season  was  over  the  birds  that 
had  shown  themselves  notably  frugivorous  were  expected  to  turn  their 
attention  to  the  orchards  of  plums,  peaches,  pears,  and  apples.  While 
these  fruits  were  ripe    1<*>1    bird-  were  collected,  but    not  one  appeared 


CULTIVATED    ikiit.  57 

to  have  molested  them.  Many  had  taken  fruit,  but  had  drawn  on 
nature's  supply  instead  of  man's.  All  the  tree-  in  the  orchard  were 
watched,  but  birds  apparently  did  not  rob  them,  a  fact  In  striking 
contrast  with  the  notorious  pillaging  by  birds  in  the  fruit-growing 
regions  of  California.  In  California  birds  also  do  much  damage  in 
spring  by  eating  the  laid-  and  blossoms  of  fruit  trees,  but  at  Marshall 
Hall  do  appreciable  loss  is  caused  in  this  way.  White-throated  -par- 
row-  occasionally  feed  on  laid-  and  blossoms,  and  on  one  occasion 
(April  25,  L901)  three  of  these  birds  were  -ecu  mutilating  pear  blos- 
soms in  the  kitchen  garden,  hut  beyond  this  no  example  of  such 
depredations  was  observed. 

Grapes.  Grapes  are  not  raised  for  market  at  Marshall  Hall.  In  the 
Bryan  kitchen  garden  there  is  a  trellis  for  family  use,  hut  birds  did  no 
appreciable  injury  to  the  grapes  that  grew  on  it. 

Tomatoes.-  Catbirds  were  reported  to  he  ruining  the  tomato  crop 
on  the  Hungerford  farm  during  the  third  week  of  June,  1899.  The 
place  was  visited  and  every  tomato  that  had  reddened  at  all  was  found 
to  have  been  pecked.  The  injury  was  causing  heavy  loss  to  the  farm. 
for  the  fruit  at  that  time  Droughts  high  price.  The  patch  was  watched 
for  several  hours,  hut  not  a  catbird  entered  it.  Nine  chicken-,  how- 
ever, stole  up  from  a  small  house  on  the  -hoi.'  and  went  from  plant 
to  plant,  eating  greedily.  To  make  doubly  sure  that  catbirds  had 
no  share  in  the  mischief,  L5  individuals  were  collected  from  the  neigh- 
boring dell  and  the  bushes  about  the  patch,  and  examination  was  made 
of  the  stomach  contents.      No  trace1  of  tomatoes  was  found. 

Melons. — The  only  fruit  grown  for  market  that  suffered  from  tin1 
depredations  of  native  birds  was  the  melon,  and  it  was  attacked  by 
only  one  species—  the  crow.  In  numbers  from  three  or  four  to  a 
dozen  at  a  time  crow-  began  to  injure  melonsabout  August  1  and  con- 
tinued for  three  week-,  attacking  both  watermelons  and  cantaloupe-. 
but  preferring  the  former.  Each  crow  would  peck  at  a  melon  a  dozen 
times  or  so  and  then  pass  on  to  another.  If  no  protective  measures 
had  been  taken,  the  crop  would  often  have  been  a  total  loss,  and  in 
spite  of  all  efforts  from  5  to  20  percent  of  the  melons  grown  at  all 
distant  from  buildings  were  punctured  (fig.  21).  Carcasses  of  crew-. 
strings  with  long  white  streamers  attached,  an  improvised  miniature 
windmill  that  revolved  and  struck  noisily  against  a  piece  o\'  metal,  and 
a  bit  of  bright  tin  suspended   from  a  string  so  that   it   turned  with 

every  breath  of  air  and  reflected   the  sun  about  the  field  Were  Some  of 

the  devices  u-i>d  to  frighten  the  wary  and  suspicious  marauders.  In 
1873,  1^74.  and  L875,  when  the  melon  crop  was  so  important  that  1  or 
5  acre.-,  containing  from  3,000  to  4,000  hills,  were  given  up  to  it.  the 
method  of  protection  used  in  the  rice  fields  of  the  South  was  adopted: 
from  sunrise  to  sunset  a  negro  with  an  old  musket  and  plenty  of  pow- 


58 


BIRDS    (>F    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 


der  watched  from  a  brush  shelter  in  the  middle  of  the  field  and.  when- 
ever a  crow  appeared,  frightened  it  away  with  a  thundering  report. 
If  the  field  was  left  unguarded  for  any  length  of  time,  the  crows  were 
-ure  to  make  havoc  among  the  melons.  Since  they  would  never  come 
within  gun-hot  if  they  knew  anybody  was  watching,  attempts  were 
made  to  destroy  them  by  a  stratagem:  two  men  would  enter  the  brush 
house  and  one  of  them  would  soon  leave,  hoping  to  delude  the  crows 
into  thinking  that  the  house  was  empty,  so  that  they  would  venture 
within  range  of  the  second  man's  gun.  The  plan  worked  only  in  the 
first  tew  trials,  however.  The  farmers  at  Marshall  Hall  maintain  that 
crows  can  count  up  to  three,  for  they  could  not  he  hoodwinked  unless 
three  men  left  the  house  and  a  fourth  remained  to  -hoot. 


Flo.  21.— Melons  damaged  by  crows. 


WILD  FRUIT. 

Wild  fruit  formed  L0.12  percent  of  the  food  of  the  <'>4.">  birds  col- 
lected, and  had  been  eaten  by  1_?<».  Both  examination  of  stomachs  and 
nut.-  of  field  work  showed  how  important  an  (dement  it  is  in  the  food 
supply  of  many  species. 

Smilax.  The  catbird,  which,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the  cedar 
bird,  i-  the  mosl  conspicuous  frugivorous  -pecie-  on  the  farm,  ate  in 
May.  when  it  arrived  from  the  South,  the  winter-cured  berries  of 
smilax.  Out  of  L3  individuals  collected  May  17  i;<».  L899,  5  had  made 
from  L5  to  4<>  percent  of  their  diet  on  these  husks  in  preference,  as 
has  already  been  -aid.  to  the  feast   spread  in  the  strawberry  patch. 


WILD    FRUIT.  59 

During  May  cedar  birds  and  crow  blackbirds  also  relished  them, 
the  robin,  when  hard  pressed  on  its  arrival,  during  the  last  of  I 
ruary,  was  -ecu  t<»  rat  them  eagerly. 

Mulberries.  The  first  mid  fruit  that  offers  a  freshly  ripened  supply 
at  Marshall  Hall  is  the  mulberry,  and  it  lasts  from  tin*  end  of  May 
until  the  *  *  1 1  <  1  of  June.  On  Ma\  29,  1896,  observations  were  made  of 
birds  feeding  in  a  large  mulberry  tree  in  the  wooded  erullv  of  tin-  hoc 
lot.  A.  pair  of  downy  woodpeckers  thai  bred  in  a  willow  stub 
by  were  twice  noted  eatingthe  berries.  A  Baltimore  oriole  probably 
a  late  migrant,  tV<l  on  them  eagerly.  Several  pairs  of  orchard  orioles 
and  kingbirds  which  nested  together  near  the  house  came  to  the  tree 
at  frequent  intervals.  The  kingbirds  would  balance  themselves  on  the 
topmost  sprays  and  pluck  tin-  berries  as  gingerly  a-  if  thej  had  been 
insects.  Two  pairs  of  red-eyed  vireos  and  a  pair  of  white-eyed  vireos 
haunted  the  mulberry  and  adjacent  tree-,  now  and  then  taking  a  berry, 
but  most  of  the  time  apparently  eating  insects.  A  cardinal  that 
nested  on  the  shore  of  the  calamus  swamp,  200  yards  distant,  made  one 
trip  to  the  tree,  hut  was  accidentally  frightened  out  of  any  subsequent 
visits.  Crows  came  from  the  woods  25  rods  away  and  three  blue  jays 
journeyed  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  mile  for  the  fruit.  Song  sparrows 
frequently  hopped  about  on  the  ground  beneath  the  tree  and  picked 
up  fallen  fruit.  A  flock  of  eight  cedar  birds  fairly  gorged  themselves. 
At  intervals  they  would  repair  to  cedar  trees  on  the  brink  of  the 
gully  ami  sit  a-  motionless  a-  if  they  wore  literally  stuffed,  until  diges- 
tion relieved  their  repletion.  Then  they  would  apparently  wake  up, 
preen  their  pretty  plumage,  and.  regaining  activity  one  after  another, 
would  presently  with  one  accord  fly  hack  to  the  berries  with  renewed, 
appetite.  They  appeared  to  spend  their  whole  time  alternately  feast- 
ing and  napping.  Thex»tbirds  wore  about  a-  gluttonous,  hut  not  so 
lazy.  They  came  to  the  tree  from  the  neighborhood,  from  the  house, 
and  from  the  river  bluff .  Hardly  a  period  of  Ave  minutes  passed  in 
which  not  one  was  among  the  branches,  and  three  or  four  were  often 
present  at  once.  They  were  so  tame  that  it  was  possible  to  see  just 
how  they  fed.  One  would  pluck  a  berry,  sometimes  an  inch  long,  bolt 
it  whole,  and  then  stand  almost  choking,  with  mouth  wide  open,  while 
the  berry,  which  made  a  great  lump  in  its  gullet,  slowly  passed  into  its 
stomach.  Then  with  evident  relief  it  would  hop  about  and  perhaps 
sing  a  few   bar-  of   song.     There  was  no  luxurious  Idleness  among 

the   catbird-.       A-    soon   a-   they    had   eaten    they    either  sang  or   (lew 

away  to  resume  nest    building,  incubation,  <>r   the   feeding  ^\'  their 
young,     Mulberries  formed  at  this  season  the  greater  part  of  their 

food. 

A  li-t  follow-  of  the  birds  that  were  observed  feeding  on  this  fruit 

or  that  wore  found  by  examination  to  have  eaten  it. 


60  BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

List  of  birds  feeding  on  mulberries. 

Blue  jay.  Cardinal.  Downy  woodpecker. 

Crow.  Carolina  chickadee.  Ce4arbird. 

Crow  blackbird.  Song  sparrow.  Catbird. 

Orchard  oriole.  Red-eyed  vireo.  Kingbird. 

Baltimore  oriole.  White-eyed  vireo.  Bobwhite. 

Raspberries  and  blackberries. — The  black  raspberry,  the  dewberry, 
and  the  blackberry,  which  are  the  wild  fruits  that,  in  the  order  given, 
ripen  next,  are  too  plentiful  and  too  widely  distributed  for  much 
remunerative  tield  observation.  The  following  list  of  birds  that  ate 
them  was  prepared  chiefly  from  stomach  examination: 

IAsi  of  birds  feeding  on  raspberries  and  blackberries. 

Bobwhite.  Brown  thrasher.  Kingbird. 

Summer  redbird.  Catbird.  Red-headed  woodpecker. 

Cardinal.  Orchard  oriole.  Cedar  bird. 

Song  sparrow.  Bluebird. 

Field  .sparrow.  Crow. 

A  few  field  notes  on  the  destruction  of  these  fruits  were  made,  how- 
ever. Catbirds  were  seen,  May  30,  1896,  in  black  raspberry  bushes 
near  the  house,  eating  half  a  dozen  berries  apiece.  During*  June,  1899, 
lot  2  was  overrun  with  a  network  of  dewberry  vines.  Here,  on  the 
17th,  bobwhites  were  observed  walking  from  vine  to  vine,  picking  the 
berries  in  a  systematic  fashion.  During  1896  blackberries  fruited 
heavily,  and  birds  were  not  slow  to  take  advantage  of  the  generous 
food  supply.  July  12  a  red-headed  woodpecker  was  observed  to  come 
and  feed  on  the  berries  with  catbirds  and  orchard  orioles,  and  a  king- 
bird was  seen  to  fly  down  to  a  bush,  hover  beside  it,  and  pluck  a 
berry.  In  early  August,  1898,  two  held  sparrows  were  seen  in  several 
instances  selecting  fruit  which  had  dried  on  the  bushes  in  preference 
to  that  which  was  fresh  and  juicy.  They  may  have  done  this  to  obtain 
the  seeds  of  the  berry  and  extract  their  meat.  A  number  of  song 
sparrows  picked  up  blackberries  from  the  ground  as  they  had  mul- 
berries. Since  this  species  is  often  very  abundant  in  cultivated  patches 
of  blackberries  and  takes  10  percent  of  its  food  from  this  fruit  in  its 
season,  the  habit  of  feeding  on  fallen  berries  may  be  fortunate  for  the 
horticulturist,  Kubus  fruits  are  not  raised  for  market  at  Marshall 
Hall,  hence  it  Is  unimportant  whether  the  birds  eat  them  or  not:  if 
they  were,  and  if  there  were  no  other  fruit  available4,  the  abundant 
frugivorous  birds  would  probably  decrease  the  profits  considerably. 

Elderberries. —  Elderberries  ripen  next,  usually  during  the  latter  half 
of  July.  There  are  so  few  of  them  on  the  farm  that  the  record  is 
scanty,  but  held  notes  made  August  5,  1898,  show  how  much  they  are 


WILD    FRUIT.  «'.l 

relished.  A  large  elder  bush  was  watched  from  L.40  to  2.50  p.  m. 
The  observations  may  !>«•  thus  summarized: 

Detailed  account  of  birds  feeding  on  elderbem 

1.45:  A  song  sparrow  hopped  along  tinder  the  hush  and  picked  up  a  fallen  berry. 
1.51:  A  downy  woodpecker  alighted  on  jthe main  .-talk  and,  ascending  within  reach 

of  a  cluster,  ate  2  berries. 
\  female  orchard  oriole  came  ami  fed. 
2.00:  A  catbird  ate  several  berries. 
2.03:  A  red-eyed  vireo  took  I  berry. 
2.09:  A  catbird  ate3  berries. 
2  11:  A  pair  of  red-eyed  vireos  Mew  into  the  hush;  one  took  a  berry  and  scurried 

away,  hut  the  other  remained  Long  enough  to  rat  I  berrii 
2.12:  A  male  redbird  dashed  in,  took  a  berry,  and  dashed  out. 
2.1.".:  A  crow  dropped  clumsily  into  the  bush,  hut  after  one  peek  at  the  fruit  espied 

me  ami  (lew  away  with  loud  clamor. 
2. 15:    \  catbird  took  I  berry. 
2. h>:  A  white-eyed  vireo  took  :;  berries. 
2.20:  A  catbird  took  a  berry. 

2.23:  A  female  summer  redbird  came  shyly  and  hurriedly  ate  several  berries. 
2.24:  A  catbird  took  a  berry. 
8.25:  Another  catbird  picked  at  a  cluster  rapidly  tor  one  minute.  Bwallowing  in  that 

time  20  berries. 
2.27:  A  red-eyed  vireo,  poised  in  the  air  like  a  humming  bird,  ate  several  berries 

from  the  same  cluster. 
2.28:  A  female  cardinal  ate  a  berry. 
2.30:  A  catbird  ate  LO  berries  in  a  minute,  rested,  and 
2.."):;:  Took  several  more. 
2.35:  A  female  summer  redbird,  bending  a  berry  stalk  under  her  weight,  leisurely 

plucked  5  berries  from  the  drooping  cluster. 
2.37:  A  catbird  ate  4  berries,  sat  and  preened  its  feathers,  and 
2.50:   Ate  1  7  more. 

Wild  cherries. — The  wild  blackcherry  (Prunvs  serotind)  is  plentiful 

at  Marshall  Hall.  but  as  a  rule  birds  did  not  congregate  about  it  as  they 
do  in  more  northern  States.  The  following  species  were  found 
feeding  on  it : 

List  of  birds  feeding  mi  wild  cherries. 

Catbird.  Song  sparrow.  Orchard  oriole. 

Kingbird.  English  Bparrow.  Red-headed  woodpecker. 

Phoebe.  ('row. 

Blueberries. —  Blueberries,  though  a  staple  article  of  birds1  diet,  are  so 
Scarce  at  Marshall  I Iall  as  t<>  ho  unimportant.  Tufted  titmice  and  cat- 
birds have  been  noted  feeding OD  them  at  the  southern  cornet  of  lot  4. 

Other  wild  fruits.  —  With  the  waning  of  summer  there  comes  Buch  an 
abundance  and  variety  of  wild  fruit  that  birds  scatter  over  \\  ide  areas 
of  the  farm,  and  observation  of  (heir  feeding  habits  yields  only  desul- 
tory results.  There  are,  altogether,  more  than  a  score  of  wild  fruit- 
ing plants  at  Marshal]  Hall,  which  furnish  food  to  at  Least  30  kind-  of 


62  BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

birds.  Sonic  of  them,  such  as  sassafras,  blackberry,  elder,  and  wild 
cherry,  drop  their  berries  shortly  after  ripening  them,  while  others, 
such  as  hackberry,  catbrier,  and  sumac,  keep  theirs  well  into  win- 
ter and  even  until  spring.  The  bountiful  supply  of  late  fruit  is  most 
noticeable  just  after  the  falling  of  the  Leaves.  Then  one  may  seelarge 
trees  festooned  with  the  burdened  vines  of  bittersweet,  woodbine,  cat- 
brier,  and  wild  grape.  Besides  the  climbing  plants,  many  shrubs  and 
trees  are  laden  with  fruit.  The  low  horse-nettle  is  bright  with  yellow 
berries;  the  rank  pokeweed  bends  under  Long  grape-like  bunches  of 
dark  purple  fruit;  and  the  persimmon  is  hung  with  yellow  globes. 
The  sour  gum  has  dropped  its  deep-blue  berries  and  light-red  leaves 
together,  but  the  holly  is  set  thick  with  scarlet  clusters  that  will  glow 
all  winter  amid  its  shining  green. 

Some  of  the  tastes  exhibited  by  birds  in  their  selection  of  fruit  are 
interesting  and  singular.  Catbirds  and  vireos  have  been  known  to 
pass  by  ripe  blackberries  and  elderberries  and  choose  green  wild  cher- 
ries and  sassafras  berries.  Many  birds  eat  sumac  berries,  which  are 
practically  all  seeds  and  would  seem  to  be  about  as  satisfactory  food 
as  So  much  gravel.  Fully  a  dozen  species  select  the  berries  of  black 
alder,  which  are  as  bitter  as  quinine.  Cedar  berries,  a  favorite  food 
with  birds,  have  an  effect  on  the  human  system  like  cantharides,  while 
the  berries  of  pokeweed,  night-hade,  and  poison  ivy  contain  danger- 
ous poisons.  If  birds  are  not  immune  from  the  toxic  effects  of  these 
berries,  one  may  question  whether  they  do  not  take  them  for  stimu- 
lation, as  man  takes  tobacco  and  alcoholic  beverages. 

Poison  ivy  is  eaten  by  practically  all  the  frugivorous  birds  of  the 
farm.  A  crow  that  was  shot  November  IT).  L900,  had  14-4  poison- 
ivy  seeds  in  its  stomach.  The  pokeberry  is  also  a  favorite  fruit. 
Mockingbirds  and  catbirds  that  were  collected  had  \'vd  on  it  so  freely 
that  their  intestines  were  discolored  by  its  juice.  During  February, 
1900,  the  snow  was  stained  in  several  places  by  bright  red  spots  with 
a  hole  in  the  center  an  inch  or  more  deep,  at  the  bottom  of  which  was 
a  mass  of  fruit  pulp  and  pokeberry  seeds.  These  deposits  proved  to 
be  excreta  of  cardinal  grosbeaks  that  had  eaten  the  berries,  tin4  heat 
from    the    droppings    having    Sufficed    to    melt    the    hole    in    the    snow. 

Nightshade  berries  (Solanum  nigrum)  were  eaten  by  several  birds  of 
the  farm,  especially  by  the  bobwhite.  During  February  and  Novem- 
ber, L900,  a  few  sapsuckers,  downy  woodpeckers,  bluebirds,  and 
myrtle  warblers,  together  with  dozens  of  flickers  and  robins,  and 
scores  of  cedar  birds  and  purple  finches,  U^l  on  the  spicy,  stimulating 
berries  of  the  red  cedar. 

Distribution  of  seeds  by  birds.  The  large  consumption  of  wild  fruit 
results  in  a  wide  distribution  of  seeds,  which  are  voided  by  birds  and 
germinate  where  they  are  dropped.     Some  observations  on  crows  will 


WILD    FRUIT. 


63 


illustrate  this  dispersion.  On  November  17.  1899,  a  large  flock  on  the 
wing  was  noticed  in  the  distance,  at  a  point  opposite  Fort  Washing- 
ton, several  miles  above  Marshall  Hall.  They  came  on  down  the  river 
in  a  line  that  at  times  stretched  almost  Prom  one  bank  to  the  other. 
When  they  neared  Marshall  Hall  they  circled  several  times  and  finally 
alighted  on  the  shore  of  the  Bryan  farm,  at  the  mouth  of  Persimmon 
Branch.  The  flock  numbered  at  Least  a  thousand,  and  hoarse  caws 
and  croaks  gave  evidence  thai  it  was  made  up  to  some  extent  of  fish 
crows.  After  the  birds  had  remained  on  the  shore  fifteen  minutes 
they  were  put  to  flight  by  a  farmer's  boy,  and  flew  <>n  down  the  river, 
lessening  to  specks,- and  finally  disappearing  on  the  horizon.  Going 
to  the  place  where  they  had  alighted,  I  found  the  sandy  beach  cut  up 
for  more  than  a  hundred  yards  with  their  tracks.  Many  led  out  to 
the  water,  and  floating  black  feather-  here  and  there  showed  where 
baths  had  been  taken.  The  most  interesting  trace  of  their  sojourn, 
however,  was  several  hundred  pellets  of  fruit  material,  which  they 
had  ejected  through  t heir  mouths  and  dropped  on  the 
ground.  These  pellets  (fig.  22)  were  about  an  inch  in 
length  and  half  an  inch  in  diameter.  They  were  of 
a  deep  purplish  color,  due  to  the  fruit  of  woodbine, 
wild  grape,  and  pokeberry,  of  which  they  were 
mainly  composed.       In  •'><>  pellets  collected  there  were 

only  1 1  seed-  of  other  plants  namely,  holly,  bitter- 
sweet, and  poison  ivy.  Pokeberry  seeds  were  by  far 
the  most  numerous.  Mr.  A.  ,).  Pieters,  of  the 
Botanical  Division  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
germinated  some  of  them,  thus  demonstrating  the 
fact  that  they  were  distributed  uninjured. 

Examination  of  the  pellets  showed  the  interesting  fact  that  they 
were  made  up  not  only  of  seeds  (fig.  23)  and  skin,  but  largely  of  fruit 
pulp  in  an  undigested  state;  indeed,  many  pellets  appeared  to  be  com- 
pacted masses  of  mashed  or  squeezed  berries.  It  seems  strange  that 
the  birds  should  have  rid  themselves  of  a  substance  that  still  contained 
a  good  deal  of  nutriment. 

Little  is  known  of  the  distribution  of  fruit  seeds  by  crows  during 
migration,  but  it  is  certain  that  they  do  this  work  effectively  while 
they  fly  to  and  from  the  roosts  where  they  congregate  in  winter,  for 
their  feeding  grounds  of  ten  cover  an  area  stretching  out  on  all  side- 

or?  o 

from  the  roost  for  .'><>  miles  or  more.  It  appears  highly  probable  that 
the  crows  which  are  found  in  winter  at  Marshall  I  lull  roost  at  Wood- 
ridge,  I>.  C,  some  L5  miles  distant.  There,  in  the  midst  of  several 
acres  of  woodland,  a  crow  dormitory  is  established,  in  which  prob- 
ably LOO,  000  crows  sleep  every  winter  night.  It  was  visited  in  Febru- 
ary. L901,  and  the  ground  was  found  to  be  strewn  with  disgorged 


Fig.  22.— Pellet  cji'ct.,1 
by  crow. 


64 


HfKDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 


pellets  containing  the  seeds  of  poison  ivy.  poison  sumac  and  other 
sumacs,  smilax,  cedar,  sour  gum,  and  flowering  dogwood.  Some  pel- 
lets, also,  were  made  up  of  the  hulls  of  corn  and  oats. 

The  distribution  of  fruiting  plants  illustrated  by  tin*  crow  is  effected, 
though  usually  in  a  slighter  degree,  by  all  other  frugivorous  birds. 
Areas  from  which  such  plants  and  shrubs  have  been  removed  are  in  a 
short  time  replanted  by  birds.  At  .Marshall  Hall  such  plants  thus 
assisted  are  constantly  striving  to  secure  a  foothold  on  the  arable 
land.  This  scattering  of  fruit  seeds  is  illustrated  by  some  observations 
made  March  l'7.  L901.  Under  a  large  black  walnut  tree,  remote  from 
other  woody  vegetation  and  near  the  negro  cabin,  a  two  hours'  search 
brought  to  view  172  fruit  seeds,  including  mulberry,  cultivated  cherry, 


**«•'• 


RovtgK-  leocvect    CorrteC 

(Cor 


Coctbrter 


rtbes    asperifoLiocj  lyOUOrter 

(SmUcxx    rotundtUoli 


Flowering         DogwoocL 

(Cornus  j  lorioLcu) 


^ 


Smooth    Su/m-Oic 

(  Rhus  glabroc) 

Poison.     Sumac- 
[RHus    verte-ao-totl 


Poison      Ivy 

KKvls    toxicooLe.njoLrort.) 


Sour    GLurrt 

(  JSfyssa.   OL<^VLCxticcx-  j 


Red  Cedar 

(juniperus  vtrgtrvtomus) 


Fig.  23. — Some  common  seeds  found  iii  en>\\  pellets. 

wild  black  cherry,  wild  grape,  woodbine,  pokeberry,  cedar,  sassafras, 
blackberry,  and  sumac.  Under  a  large  cedar  in  the  middle  of  lot  2 
seeds  of  the  following  additional  fruiting  plants  were  collected:  Elder, 
hackberry,  bittersweet,  sour  gum,  smilax.  blueberry,  flowering  dog- 
wood, and  poison  ivy. 

The  most  striking  examples  of  trees  planted  by  birds  at  Marshall 
Hall  are  the  ox -heart  cherry  trees  that  extend  along  the  riverfront 
for  half  a  mile.  Almost  as  notable,  perhaps,  are  the  tall  cedar  trees 
which  stand  in  long  rows  between  adjacent  fields  (see  PL  XII.  fig.  1). 
Scattered  over  the  old  pastures,  also,  little  cedar  trees,  like  fox  brushes, 
attest  the  work  of  the  winged  planters,  but  in  the  arable  land  the 
rotation  of  crops  kills  all  except   such  as  may  start  along  fence  rows. 


Bull.  17,  Biological  Survey,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture. 


Plate  XI. 


Fig.  1.— Sassafras  as  a  Weed,  in  Lot  5. 


Fig.  2.— Corn  Injured  by  Crows. 


. 


Plate  XII. 


Fig.  1.— Cornfield.  Lot  5. 


Fig.  2. -Wheat  Stubble,  Lot  3. 
The  line  <>f  trees  in  the  middle-ground  m.-irks  the  course  of  Persimmon  Branch 


CHAIN. 


65 


Sassafras  planted  by  birds  <>n  arable  laud  is  not  -<»  easily  exterminated. 
On  the  Hungerford  farm  it  almost  choked  a  peach  orchard  of  several 
acres.  On  the  Bryan  farm  it  attained  Buch  a  growth  in  a  cornfield 
previously  used  for  grass  that  it  had  t<>  be  cut  down  with  brush  hooks 
(PI.  XI.  fig.  1).  In  another  part  of  the  -ami' lot  high-bush  blackber- 
ries -own  by  birds  had  to  be  similarly  eradicated. 

V.  -  GRAIN. 


( S-rain  had  entered  into  the  food  of  :)s  out  of  the  645  birds  examined. 
Of  these  _1  had  picked  up  waste  kernel-  and   IV  had  secured  valuable 

grain,  which,  however,  amounted  to   hut    L.25  percent  of   the  food    of 
all  the  birds. 

Crow. — The  crow  (fig.  24)  is  by 
all  odds  the  worst  pilferer  of  the 
cornfield.  Every yearal  Marshall 
Hall,  as  elsewhere,  a  part  of  the 
field  must  he  replanted  because  of 
his  *  pickings  and  stealings.'  In 
the  replanting  was  more  ex- 
tensive than  usual,  requiring  on 
the  39-acre  field  1  bushel  %\  peek-. 
4<'»  pereent  of  the  'M,  bushels  origi- 
nally planted.  This  unusual  ratio 
^va>  probably  caused  hv  the  fail- 
irre  of  the  cherry  crop,  which  left 
the  crow  short  of  food.  The  pro- 
tective deviceof  tarring  sn'd  corn 
is  employed  to  some  extent  on  the 
'Hungerford farm.  In, June.  L899, 
I  planted  two  rows  of  corn,  one 
tarred,  on  the  edge  of  lot  4,  near 
a  nest  of  young  crows.  When  the 
seed  sprouted  .">  kernels  were  pulled  from  the  untarred  row.  and  7 
plants  were  uprooted  from  the  tarred  row. -the  kernels  of  which  were 
left  intact.  On  May  .')<>.  L901,  a  field  of  sprouting  tarred  corn  on  the 
Hungerford  place  was  visited.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  a  field  of 
'  unprotected  corn  adjoined  it.  crows  came  to  this  field,  perhaps  because 
it  was  nearer  wood-.  After  three  of  them  had  walked  about  among 
the  hills  for  fifteen  minutes  the  place  was  inspected.  Only  three 
plants  had  been  pulled  up,  hut  in  each  case  the  grain  had  been 
'removed.  It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  at  W'ayland.  Mass.,  during 
June.  L  901,  crows  pulled  a  large  quantity  of  tarred  corn,  hut  did  not  eat 
it.     The  corn  there  had  been  coated  with  wood  ashes  after  the  tarring1 


Fig.  24. — Common  crow. 


7222— No.  1' 


02 


66  BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

and  dropped  by  a  corn  planter.  Some  farmers  object  to  tarring  for 
fear  of  clogging  the  planter.  At  Marshall  Hall  lime  is  used  instead 
of  ashes,  but  most  farmers  who  tar  their  corn  discard  the  machine  and 
plant  in  hills. 

The  injury  to  corn  by  crows  at  other  seasons  than  sprouting  time  is, 
as  a  general  thing,  comparatively  insignificant,  but  in  some  years  it 
has  been  important  when  the  ears  were  in  the  milk.  Unfortunately 
at  the  worst  times  no  observations  were  made,  though  crows  were 
seen  each  summer  feeding  on  corn  in  this  stage  of  development,  tear- 
ing open  the  ears  and  picking  out  the  kernels  in  rapid  succession 
(PL  XI,  fig.  2).  In  the  National  Zoological  Park  at  Washington  dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1896,  their  depredations  on  an  acre  of  corn  in  the 
milk  were  watched  and  50  percent  of  the  crop  was  found  to  have  been 
ruined.  The  only  scarecrows  that  proved  effective  at  Marshall  Hall 
were  dead  crows  and  strings  stretched  on  poles  around  the  held  and  hung 
with  long  white  streamers.  Although  in  fall  the  number  of  marauders 
is  greatly  increased  by  reenforcements  from  the  North,  ripe  corn  sus- 
tains less  injury  than  roasting  ears.  One  reason  is  the  fact  that  the 
extracting  of  a  few  kernels  from  a  ripe  ear  does  not  cause  the  rest 
to  rot.  as  is  the  case  with  roasting  ears.  Another  reason  is  the  abun- 
dance of  fall  fruit.  Wheat  also  suffers  comparatively  little.  When 
it  is  ripening,  cherries  and  sprouting  corn  divert  the  crows'  attention. 
After  it  is  cut  and  gathered  into  the  shock,  however,  they  often  join  the 
English  sparrows  in  removing  the  kernels  from  the  cap  sheaves.  In 
November,  1899,  they  attacked  newly  sown  wheat  also,  cleaning  every 
kernel  off"  a  patch  of  wet  ground  where  the  drill  had  failed  to  cover 
the  seed.  They  were  also  observed  in  several  instances  pulling  up 
sprouting  wheat.  Oats  are  injured  even  less  than  wheat,  though 
crows  have  been  noticed  feeding  on  them  at  harvest  time. 

Crow  Blackbird. — The  crow  blackbird  (tig.  25)  takes  grain  to  the 
extent  of  45  percent  of  its  food,  as  Professor  Beal  lias  shown,  and  is 
a  bird  that  needs  watching.  The  farmers  at  Marshall  Hall  complained 
that  it  injured  sprouting  corn,  but  observations  did  not  show  the 
damage  to  be  serious.  The  only  birds  concerned  in  this  work  were  those 
in  the  breeding  colony  in  the  dell  on  the  Hungerford  farm.  Except  in 
rare  instances,  they  were  not  seen  visiting  the  Bryan  farm  at  sprouting 
time;  consequently  they  could  not  be  held  responsible  for  serious 
injury  there.  On  May  is.  L899,  they  were  watched  in  their  dell.  The 
parent  birds  kept  going  to  and  from  their  nests,  which  held  eggs  or 
newly  hatched  young,  and  many  foraged  in  an  adjacent  field  of  sprout- 
ing corn.  Nine  old  birds  and  four  nestlings  were  collected,  but  only 
one,  an  adnlt,  had  taken  corn,  and  that  one  in  trifling  proportion.  On 
May  30,  L901,  the  colony  was  again  visited.  The  young  were  then 
feathered  and  old  enough  to  eat  vegetable  food.  The  most  available 
supply  was  a  held  of  sprouting  corn  unprotected  by  tar,  that  lay  within 


GRAIN. 


67 


a  hundred  yards  of  the  dell,  [t  was  watched  from  1  p.m.  till  6  p.  m., 
but  although  the  birds  often  Mew  over  it  and  in  two  cases  alighted  in 
it.  they  apparently  did  it  qo  injury,  and  a  careful  search  for  pulled 
com  showed  not  a  plant  disturbed.  Blackbirds  probably  did  some 
mischief  to  corn  in  the  milk,  however,  and  were  often  seen  stealing 
from  the  -hock,  hut  these  offenses  were  trivial  in  comparison  with 
their  attack- on  sprouting  winter  wheat.  During  November,  1900,  a 
flock  of  from  2,000  to  3,000  pulled  wheal  on  the  Bryan  farm,  and  only 
continual  nse  of  the  shotgun  saved  the  crop.  At  each  report  they  would 
fly  to  the  oak  woods  bordering  lot  5,  where  they  U'd  on  acorns.  Nine 
birds  collected  had  eaten  acorns  and  wheat  in  about  equal  proportions. 
The  flock  must  have  taken  daily  at    least  half  an  ounce  of  food  apie<  «  . 


wm 


Fig.  25.— Crow  blackbird. 


~_  „ 


and  therefore,  if  the  specimens  examined  were  representative,  must  in 
a  week  have  made  away  with  217  pounds  of  sprouting  wheal,  a  loss 
that  would  entail  at  harvest  time  a  shortage  of  at  Least  ten  time-  as 
much.  When  wheat  and  <>at-  were  harvested  no  appreciable  loss  was 
possible,  a-  only  a  few  blackbirds  remained  on  the  farm.  and.  in  fact. 
these  few  appeared  to  he  feeding  on  fruit  or  insects,  or,  when  they  did 
eat  grain,  to  be  taking  chiefly  waste  kernels.  During  June  of  L898, 
L899,  1900,  and  L901,  when  wheat  was  ripening  or  being  harvested, 
blackbirds  came  from  their  nesting  dell  to  the  Bryan  farm,  hut  onlyin 
few  instances  were  they  seen  in  the  wheat  fields.  On  June  L5  and  1*>. 
when  oats  and  wheat  were  ready  to  cut  on  the  Hungerford  farm,  the 
polony  was  closely  watched.     The  young  wore  on  the  wing  and  the 


68 


BIRDS    OF    A     MARYLAND    FARM. 


whole  flock  was  expected  to  resort  to  the  grain  fields,  but  none  were 
seen  to  enter  them.  On  June  L8,  however,  when  oats  were  being  cut, 
several  birds  were  noted  feeding  on  thorn  in  two  instances. 

English  Sparrow.  The  English  sparrow  (fig.  26)  is  the  most  highly 
granivorous  bird  on  the  farm.  The  stomachs  of  53  birds — IT  nest- 
linos  and  36  adults  were  collected.  Grain  had  been  eaten  by  8  of  the 
young— a  Large  proportion,  for  nearly  all  nestlings  are  almost  exclu- 
sively Insectivorous.  It  formed  86  percent  of  the  food  of  the  adults. 
all  but  two  having  taken  it.  Six  had  selected  oats.  14  wheat,  and  15 
corn.  The  number  of  English  sparrows  on  the  two  farms  varied  from 
200  to  L,000.  They  fed  on  grain  whenever  and  wherever  it  was  attain- 
able. They  did  not  appear  to  hurt  sprouting  fields,  but  did  con- 
siderable harm  to  standing  crops.     Jn  1898  lot  4  was  in  wheat,  and 


Fig. 


Ki.Kli> 


about  the  middle  of  June,  when  it  was  nearly  ready  for  cutting,  a  strip 
l>(M)  yards  long  beside  the  fence  near  the  storage  barn  was  found 
broken  down  by  sparrows.  The  loss  by  this  mischief  was  even  greater 
than  that  by  their  continual  thefts  from  the  rest  of  the  field.  A  year 
later  they  mined  in  the  same  way  a  strip  of  wheat  several  yards  wide, 
extending  from  the  negro  cabin  to  Persimmon  Branch,  and  also  sec- 
tions of  oal  fields  on  the  upper  part  of  the  Hungerford  farm.  They 
attacked  both  wheat  and  oats  in  the  shock,  and  stole  much  of  the 
grain  in  the  cap  sheaves.  They  were  seen  feeding  on  corn  in  the 
milk,  but  probably  selected  ears  that  had  already  been  torn  open  by 
crows;  Dr.  A.  K.  Fisher,  however,  has  observed  English  sparrows  at 
Chevy  Chase.  Md..  opening  and  eating  tin1  tip  ends  of   ears  of  corn 


GBAIN.  69 

without  any  aid   from  crows.     Whenever  stock   was  fed   with  grain 

they  were  always  on  hand  to  gel  their  portion.  They  ate  corn  with 
the  pigs  in  the  hog  lot,  and  often  outnumbered  the  little  chickens  in 

the  hack  yard  around  their  rations  of  cracked  corn  or  Indian  mush. 
Not  satisfied  with  regular  feeding  times,  they  drew  on  the  source  of 
supply,  the  corn  house,  and  could  he  seen  any  day  in  the  year,  hut 
most  commonly  in  winter,  flying  out  of  it.  sometimes  by  the  score. 

Other  birds.  So  far  as  is  known,  no  other  birds  of  the  farm  com- 
mitted serious  depredations  on  grain,  though  several  occasionally  did 
trifling  harm.  The  red-winged  blackbird  did  not  disturb  sprouting 
grain,  but  was  seen  in  the  first  week  of  A.ugust,  L898,  to  visit  corn- 
fields in  flocks  of  from  12  to  20  and  eat  from  roasting  ears.  Gold- 
finches were  troublesome  in  ripening  oats  on  the  Hungerford  farm 
duringthe  last  week  of  dune.  L899.  A  Hock  of  a  hundred  -pent  nn>->t 
of  the  day  swayingon  bending  oat  stems.  Four  were  collected,  hut 
singularly  enough  no  grain  was  in  their  stomachs.  On  an  acre  of  the 
tield  where  the  birds  usually  assembled,  5  percent  of  the  crop  was 
lost  from  the  breaking  down  of  stalks. 

I  f  the  mourning  dove  and  the  bobwhite  do  harm  to  grain  it  is  so  slight 
as  to  escape  notice.  The  dove,  however,  has  been  taken  with  a  few 
kernel-  of  sprouting  wheat  in  its  crop."  Both  birds  eat  a  good  deal  of 
waste  grain  in  stubble-fields.  On  August  31,  L898,  in  lot  4.  there  was 
a  Hock  of  at  least  30  doves  in  the  wheat  stubble  of  the  Bryan  farm,  and 
at  the  same  time  there  were  two  smaller  flocks  on  the  Hungerford 
place.  In  November.  L899,  the  Hock  on  the  upper  part  of  the  farm  fed 
with  the  bobwhites  on  wheat  stubble,  and,  like  them,  did  not  appear  to 
relish  corn  dropped  from  the  ear  in  fields  where  they  were  searching 
for  weed  swd.  There  was  considerable  diversity  of  feeding  habits 
J  among  different  Hocks  of  bobwhites  on  the  two  farms.  One  Hock  on  the 
Bryan  farm  during  November  and  December.  L900,  was  seldom  seen 
on  a  patch  of  wheat  stubble  adjacent  to  their  cover,  the  oak  woods  of 
lot  5.  1  law  ks  were  numerous  there,  however,  and  may  have  frightened 
the  birds  away  from  what  would  ordinarily  have  been  a  tempting 
I  i  feeding  ground.  A  large  covey  on  the  lower  part  (A'  the  Hungerford 
farm,  where  no  wheat  had  been  raised.  \'<^[  entirely  on  weed  seed, 
but  one  at  the  upper  end  spent  about  all  the  feeding  time  in  wheat 
stubble.  This  covey  had  a  habit  of  sleeping  in  a  peach  orchard,  as 
was  attested  by  little  rings  of  dung  showing  where  the  birds  had 
squatted  in  a  circle  with  heads  out  and  tails  in.  From  -i\  of  these 
rings,  representing  as  many  days'  feeding.  300  droppings  were  col 
lected.  Remains  of  wheat,  or  more  strictly  speaking,  fragment-  <>t' 
bran  from  one-fifth  of  a  millimeter  to  .'>  millimeters  in  length,  formed 

85  pel-cent  of   them.       A   bird  of    this  COVey  had    in    it-   crop    L60  whole 


a  In  Esses  County,  N.  .1.,  the  dove  <l«»e>  much  damage  in  newly  sown  fields  of 
buckwheat. 


70  BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

grains,  and  in  it>  stomach  other  wheat  half  digested,  all  amounting  to 
91  percent  of  it-  food.  The  next  year  bobwhites  were  noted  feeding 
in  wheat  stubble  in  lot  3  (PL  XII,  fig.  2).  [nNovember,  L900,  observa- 
tions were  made  in  a  cornfield  in  which  the  tops  of  the  stalks  had  been 
removed  for  fodder,  leaving  the  ears  attached  to  low  stalks.  In  many 
places  kernels  had  dropped  to  the  ground,  but  the  bobwhites  that 
frequented  the  field  to  procure  weed  seed  apparently  did  not  touch 
them.  These  desultory  data  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  bob- 
white  takes  only  waste  wheat  and  does  not  relish  corn,  but  observa- 
tions made  in  November.  1901,  on  lot  5  of  the  Bryan  farm,  when  the 
corn  was  in  the  stack  (PI.  XII,  fig.  1),  does  not  confirm  this  supposi- 
tion; for  in  this  case  the  birds  fed  to  a  certain  extent  on  the  waste 
kernels  of  corn  scattered  on  the  ground. 

The  meadowlark  is  much  less  granivorous  than  these  two  specie-. 
but  it  often  picked  up  wheat  in  stubble-fields  just  after  harvest 
and  late  in  the  fall.  One  specimen  obtained  November  29,  1900,  con- 
tained TO  percent  of  wheat.  The  cardinal  was  occasionally  seen  feed- 
ing on  waste  wheat  and  corn  along  the  edge  of  stubble-fields.  The 
English  sparrow,  the  crow,  the  crow  blackbird,  the  red-wing,  and  the 
cowbird  are  also  stubble  feeders.  On  the  5th  of  August.  is(.»s.  fully 
a  thousand  crow  blackbirds  with  a  few  redwings  were  noted  picking 
up  waste  grain  in  the  wheat  and  oat  stubble  of  the  Hungerford  farm. 
If  such  a  horde  of  these  birds  were  present  at  harvest  time,  complaints 
would  be  made  against  them  as  serious  as  those  now  heard  from  the 
Mississippi  Valley. 

During  the  blizzard  of  February,  1900,  several  birds  obtained  food 
from  the  droppings  of  farm  animals.  English  sparrows  and  crows 
were  seen  picking  corn  from  dung  in  the  hog  pen  on  the  Hungerford 
farm,  and  meadowlarks,  horned  larks,  doves,  and  cardinals  were 
noticed  taking  it  from  cow  droppings  in  an  open  pasture. 

The  native  sparrows,  unlike  the  English  sparrows,  have  little  or  no 
liking  for  grain.  In  a  field  of  wheat  on  tin4  Bryan  farm  5  English 
sparrows  and  1!>  native  sparrows,  including  song,  field,  chipping,  and 
grasshopper  sparrows,  were  collected,  just  before  and  just  after  the 
crop  was  (ait.  All  the  English  sparrows  were  gorged  with  wheat,  but 
only  2  native  sparrows  a  chipping  sparrow  and  a  grasshopper  spar- 
row- had  eaten  it.  and  they  had  taken  only  a  single  kernel  apiece. 
Moreover,  when  winter  wheat  sprouted,  the  hosts  of  native  sparrows 
from  the  North  (hat  were  running  over  the  fields  could  not  be  detected 
doing  it  any  injury. 

VI,    WEED  SEED. 

Weed  seed  is  a  staple  article  of  diet  for  practically  all  seed-eating 
birds.  It  formed  L8  percentof  the  food  of  the  whole  number  of  birds 
Collected,  and  had  been  eaten  by  W>2.  Lists  of  these  birds  and  of  the 
41  kinds  of  seeds  that  they  selected  are  appended. 


WEED    SEED. 


71 


List  of  "  <  <  d-&  i  </  <  'it,  rs  and  » >  •  d  ->  •  'I  eaU  n. 


HIKDS    WHOSE    STOMACHS    CONTAINED    WEED    HEED. 


Bobwhite. 
Mourning  dove. 
I  [orned  lark. 
Bobolink. 
( lowbird. 

Red-winged  blackbird. 
Meadowlark. 


Rusty  blackbird. 
( You  blackbird. 
( roldfinch. 
Savanna  sparrow . 
<  rrasshopper  sparrow . 
White-throated  sparrow 
Tree  Bparrow. 


( Shipping  sparrow , 

Field  sparrow . 

Junco. 

niiil'  Bparrow . 

( Sardinal. 

( iarolina  chickadee. 


SPECIES    OF    \\  EED    SEED    EATEN. 


Bull  thistle  (Carduus  lanceolatus) . 
Beggar-ticks  (  Bidens  frondosa) . 
Sneezeweed  I  Helenium  autumnale). 
Ragweed  I  Ambrosia  artemisiaefolia,  tig.  -7  j. 
Giant  ragweed  (Ambrosia  trifida). 
Sow  thistle  (Sonchus oleraceus) . 
Dandelion  I  Taraxacum  taraxacum,  fig.  27 1. 
Wild  lettuce  (  Lactuca  spicata  I. 
Black  bindweed  I  Polygonum  convolvulus, 

fig.  27). 
Pennsylvania  persicaria  i  Polygonum  penn- 

sylvanicum ). 
Knotweed  I  Polygonum  aviculare). 
Climbing    false    buckwheat    (Polygonum 

scandens  I. 
Bitter  dock  (Rumex  obtusifolius). 
Curled  dock  (Rumex  crispus). 
Sheep  sorrel  |  Rumex  'urtosella). 
Crab-grass  (Panicum  aanguinale). 
Pigeon-grass  (ChaetocMoa  glauca,  fig  27). 
Green  foxtail  grass  (ChaetocMoa  riridis). 
Broom-sedge  (Andropogon  virginicus) . 
Sheathed  rush-grass  (Sporobolus  vaginae- 

floras  I. 
Poverty  grass  (Aristida  sp. ). 
Yard  grass  (  Eleusine  indica). 
Bermuda  grass  (Capriola  dactylon  |. 
Faspalum  I  Paspalum  sp.  |. 
Sedge  (Oyperus). 
Sassafras  (Sassafras  sassafras). 
Blackberry  I  Rubus  vittosus). 
Pokeberry  |  Phytolacca  decandra). 
Partridge  pea  (Cassia  chamaecrista). 
Sweet  clover  (Melilotus  alba). 
Tick-trefoil  (Meibomia  nudiflora). 
Snowdrops  (  KneiffUl  friiflrosa) . 
Chickweed  I  Alsme  media  ). 
Amaranth    (Amaranthua    retroflexus,    fig. 

27). 
Trumpet  creeper  (  Tecoma  radicans). 
Yellow  sorrel  |  Oxalis  s(ricta). 


Rib-grass  «  Plantago  lanceolata  I. 

Spurge  |  l-jii>h<>ri>i<i  maculata,  fig.  27  i 


Pi©.  27.— Weed  seeds  commonly 
eaten  by  birds:  a,  bindweed; 
h,  lamb's-quarters;  <\  purslane; 
'/,  amaranth;   '.  spotted    spurge; 

/   ragweed;    .</.   i>ii,rr<>n-!,rr;i^»:    //. 
dandelion. 

Lamb's-quarters  i  ( 'henopodium  <iU>nn>.  fig. 

27). 
Purslane  (Portulaca oleracea,  fig.  '-'.   . 
Jewel- weed  i  Trnpatiena), 


i  "J  BIRDS    OF     A     MARYLAND    FARM. 

WEED  DESTRUCTION  BY  NATIVE  SPARROWS. 

Spring.  The  farmer's  strongest  allies  in  his  campaign  against  weed- 
arc  the  various  species  of  native  sparrows  (V\.  XIII).  which  are  a 
potent  aid  every  month  in  the  year,  though  chiefly  in  the  colder 
months.  The  value  of  their  work,  obvious  in  fall  and  winter,  i^  less 
easily  appraised  in  spring  and  early  summer,  but  may  he  suggested 
by  a  few    note-. 

The  sparrows  that  breed  on  the  farm  have  to  content  themselves 
early  in  the  spring  with  seeds  left  from  the  preceding  year,  but  by 
the  middle  of  May  they  find  in  fields  that  have  lain  tallow  all  winter, 
or  that  were  in  corn  tin4  previous  season,  a  plentiful  supply  of  the 
ripening  seeds  of  chickweed  and.  a  little  later,  of  yellow  sorrel.  Song 
sparrows  were  seen  (May  L8,  L899)  on  the  edges  of  such  fields  helping 
themselves  liberally  from  opening  chickweed  pods.  Chipping  spar- 
rows were  noted  (May  30,  L896)  far  out  in  a  patch  of  corn  stubble 
feeding  on  yellow  sorrel  that  was  going  to  seed,  and  a  chipping  spar- 
row and  a  field  sparrow  collected  June  bland  IT.  L898,  had  eaten  seeds 
of  the  same  weed. 

Summer.  —  During  the  second  week  in  July.  1898,  a  song  sparrow- 
was  often  seen  following  lines  of  knotweed  in  the  road  along  the  bluff, 
and  a  telescope  showed  that  it  was  plucking  off  the  newly  ripened  seeds. 
At  the  same  time  another  song  sparrow,  killed  on  theedgeof  a  timothy 
field,  and  two  grasshopper  sparrows  from  the  center  of  the  same  field, 
had  eaten  seeds  of  rib-grass,  which  at  the  time  was  a  had  weed  in  the 
timothy.  During  August  the  seed-eating  of  sparrows  is  sufficiently 
Qoticeable  to  attract  the  attention  of  even  a  casual  observer,  for 
by  this  time  great  stores  of  weed  seed  lane  ripened  and  the  young 
sparrows,  which  have  been  exclusively  insectivorous,  are  ready  to 
take  vegetable  food.  The  following  notes  merely  give  a  few  specific 
cases  that  might  have  been  multiplied  many  times  every  day.  A  song 
sparrow  was  observed  (August  28,  L898)  picking  out  soft  immature 
seeds  from  a  spike  of  green  fox-tail  grass,  a  plant  that,  with  its  con- 
gener pigeon-grass,  furnishes  seed-eating  birds  with  favorite  food. 
On  the  .same  date  a  score  of  chipping  sparrows  were  noted  amid  crab- 
grass,  which  was  spreading  so  rapidly  through  a  market  garden  in 
a  pear  orchard  on  the  Bryan  place  that  it  was  likely  to  impair  the 
product.  They  hopped  up  to  the  fruiting  stalks,  which  wore  then  in 
the  milk,  and  beginning  at  the  tip  of  one  of  the  several  spikes  that 
radiated  from  a  common  center  like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel  and.  grad- 
ually moving  their  beaks  along  to  the  base,  they  chewed  oil'   the  seeds 

<>f  spike  after  spike  in  regular  succession.  Usually  they  did  not 
remove  their  beaks  until  they  reached  the  base,  though  some  individ- 
uals especially  birds  of  the  year,  would  munch  a  few  seeds  in  the 
middle  of  a  spike  and  then  take  a  fresh  one.      Fourteen  birds  were  col- 


B,    .   '  7    B    ,  ogical  Survey.  U.  S    Dept.  of  Aen. 


Plate  XIII. 


Four  Common  Seed-destroying  Sparrows. 
l.  Junco;  2,  white-throated  sparrow;  ."..  fox  sparrow;  i.  tree  sparrow 


Bull.  17,  Biological  Survey,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agf 


Plate  XIV. 


Fig.  1.— Giant  Ragweed  in  Garden. 


Fig.  2.— Broom-Sedge  Appropriating  Land. 


WEED    SEED.  i  •"» 

lected  from  this  orchard  and  LO  from  other  part-  of  tin-  farm.  <  Jrab- 
grass  seeds  were  found  to  have  formed  ;>\  percent  of  their  food,  one 
stomach  containing  L50  seeds.  Most  of  the  remaining  t6  percent 
consisted  of  such  weeds  as  green  fox-tail  grass,  yellow  sorrel,  spotted 
spurge,  and  purslane,  with  a  very  small  quantity  of  ragweed.  Other 
sparrow-  were  found  feeding  on  crab-grass  and  the   foregoing  weeds 

I  DC 

during  the  Last  week  of  August  and  the  first  part  of  September,  L898. 
It  is  important  to  remember  at  this  point  that  each  of  the  sparrows 
that  live  on  the  farm  in  summer,  namely,  the  song,  chipping,  field,  and 
grasshopper  sparrows,  has  it-  own  peculiar  habitat,  and  to  note  that 
tlie  consequent  diversity  of  feeding  ranges  make-  their  work  more  or 
jomplementary,  hence  more  valuable. 

Autumn  to  late  spring.-  From  autumn  to  late  spring  evidence  of  the 
seed-eating  habits  of  sparrows  is  so  plain  that  he  who  run-  may  read. 
The  influx  of  northern  migrants  has  by  this  time  increased  the  sparrow 
population  several-fold,  and  as  the  leaves  have  fallen  and  the  crop-  have 
been  cut,  the  lively  flocks  diving  here  and  there  among  the  brown  weeds 
to  feed  are  familiar  adjuncts  of  every  roadside,  fence  row.  and  Held. 
Sparrow-  were  collected  only  during  November,  L899,  February,  1900, 
and  April,  L899.  In  all.  76  were  taken,  which  comprised  25  -one-  spar- 
rows, 23  white-throats,  L2  field  sparrows,  1 L  juncos,  3chipping  sparrows, 
a  grasshopper  sparrow,  and  a  savanna  sparrow.  Seventy  percent  of 
their  food  was  weed  seed,  and  the  proportion  would  have  been  much 
larger  if  the  birds  collected  in  April  could  have  been  taken  in  March, 
for  they  had  eaten  of  the  abundant  April  insects  almost  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  seeds. 

Field  observations. — The  mere  examination  of  stomach- doe- not  give 
an  adequate  notion  of  tin1  extent  and  the  methods  of  weed-seed  eating. 
It  was  not  feasible  to  collect  stomachs  enough  to  show  the  character- 
istics of  all  the  birds  of  the  farm.  A  few  minute-'  field  observation, 
however,  would  often  tell  what  a  large  flock  was  doing  in  cases  where 
it  would  have  been  impossible  to  collect  more  than  a  few  individuals. 
Several  notes  are  cited  below  to  illustrate  the  sparrow's  work,  which 
begins,  as  has  already  been  -aid.  before  the  seeds  are  ripe,  and  con- 
tinues throughout  fall  and  winter  and  even  far  into  spring. 

In  a  rank  weedy  growth  of  crab-grass  and  green  fox-tail  era--  in 
the  truck  plot  of  lot  3  a  fiock  of  20  juncos  was  watched  for  half  an 
hour.  November  L5,  1899,  as  they  breakfasted  on  seed-.  At  this  time 
most  of  the  seeds  had  fallen  and  the  birds  picked  them  up  under  the 
plants  instead  of  taking  them  from  the  -talk-  a-  the  chipping  -parrow- 
haddone  in  August.  On  the  following  day  the  same  Hock,  with  about 
an  equal  number  of  white-throated  sparrows  and  song  sparrows,  flew 

to    the    wheat    stubble   of    lot    3,    beside    the    negro   cabin,    and    bu-ily 

gathered  fallen  seeds  of  ragweed  which  had  made  a  rank  growth  there. 


74 


BIRDS    OF     A     MARYLAND    FARM. 


This  wood  is  troublesome  at  Marshall  Hall:  it  chokes  the  crops  on 
truck  lands,  gains  a  foothold  in  pastures,  making  milk  hitter  and 
unsalable,  and  is  so  pestiferous  in  hayfields  that  it  has  to  he  removed 
by  a  gleaner.  Fortunately,  however,  it  is  palatable  to  seed-eating 
birds,  and  it  probably  furnishes  them  a  larger  proportion  of  their  food 
than  any  other  plant  on  the  farm,  a  fact  w  hich  doubtless  prevents 
much  greater  trouble  and  loss.  Another  harmful  weed  is  broom- 
sedge.  It  is  ruinous  to  mowing  and  pasture,  and  spreads  so  readily 
that  if  undisturbed  it  would  in  time  take  possession  of  all  the  fields 
(PI.  XIV,  lie;.  -)•     Juncos,  field  sparrows,  tree  sparrows,  and  probably 


Pig.  28— Field  Bparrow, 

Other  species  check  it  to  some  extent.  As  has  been  said  before.  Held 
sparrows  and  tree  sparrows  are  usually  to  be  found  associated  with  it. 
In  the  higher  part  of  the  hoe-  lot  a  Hock  of  field  sparrows  (fig.  28)  dur- 
ing  the  middle  of  November,  L899  and  L900,  spent  most  of  their  time 
swaying  <>n  broom-sedge  stalks,  from  which  they  were  busily  extract- 
ing seeds.  Sometimes  a  bird  alighting  on  a  plant  would  bend  it  to 
the  ground  and  hold  it  down  with  its  feet  while  picking  out  the  seeds; 

seldom  would  one  feed  from  the  ground  in  any  other  manner.  At  the 
same  time  a  Hock  of  about  :'»<)  field  and  tree  sparrows  along  Persimmon 
Branch  behind  the  truck  plot  of  lot  3  were  also  feeding  on  broom-sedge. 


WEED    SEED.  »  0 

Am  interesting  illustration  of  tree  sparrows'  habits  was  noticed  on 
the  Hungerford  farm  during  a  heavy  snowstorm  in  tin*  third  week  of 
February,  P.»<»<>.  Here  and  there  where  the  whitenessof  the  field  was 
pierced  by  phalanxes  of  dry  broom-sedge,  a  flock  of  a  do/en  or  more 
tree  sparrows  found  good  cheer  in  spite  of  the  driving  flakes.     Prom 

one  In-own  patch  to  another  they  Hew.  clinging  to  the  plants  while  they 

plucked  out  the  seeds,  seldom  leavinga  stalk  unexplored.     Frequently 

two  would  W^'d  from  a  single  stalk,  while  a  third,  made  thrifty  by  the 
wintry  dearth,  hopped  in  the  snow  below  searching  for  scattered  seeds. 

The  snow  whirled  in  clouds  across  the  field,  hut  these  little  creature-, 
inured  to  northern  tempests,  worked  on  with  cheerful,  hardy  indus- 
try. Several  days  later  a  flock  of  more  than  :i»><>  sparrows,  chiefly 
juncos  and  tree  sparrows, 
with  some  song  sparrows 
and  white-throats,  were  ob- 
served  feeding  on  a  piece 
of  truck  land  between  two 
bushy  brooks  where  weeds 
grew  rank,  in  places  over- 
topping a  man's  head.  The 
snow  beneath  was  every- 
where delicately  marked 
with  interlacing  tracks, 
which  showed  how  thorough 
had  been  the  search  for 
food.  ( )ne  -pace  50  yards 
square  had  hardly  a  square 
yard  that  was  free  from  the 
prints  of  tiny  feet.  The 
main  harvest  of  ragweed 
seeds  lay  buried  under  the 
snow,  but  remnants  still 
chine;  to  the  stalks,  and  lamb's-quarters  and  amaranth  were  well  laden. 
Under  all  these  plants  thickly  scattered  chaff  and  seed  coat-  bore  wit- 
ness to  the  birds'  work. 


Fig.  29.— Goldfinch. 


WEED  DESTRUCTION  BY  OTHER  BIRDS. 

Goldfinch. — Goldfinches  (tie;.  29)  would  be  as  valuable  as  sparrows  it' 
they  were  as  numerous.  Like  sparrows,  they  destroy  weeds  throughout 
the  year.  In  spring  their  first  fresh  supply  comes  from  the  dandelion. 
On  May  Is.  L899,  three  males  and  two  females  hopped  about  among 
the  dandelion  globes  in  the  Bryan  front  yard,  every  now  and  then 
perching  crosswise  on  the  stalks  and  devouring  the  seeds.  In  June 
goldfinches  often  visited  the  field  daisy  (Erigeron  ramosus),  and  in 
July  the  purple  aster  (  Vemonia)  and  the  wild  carrot  (Daucus  carota). 
In  these  cases  they  appeared  to  be  picking  out  immature  seeds,  and 


7<>  BIRDS    OF     A     MARYLAND     FARM. 

one  bird  that  was  shot  contained  a  soft  mass  of  such  food.  The  habit 
of  feeding  on  thistles,  which  has  given  the  species  its  common  name 
of  'thistle  bird,'  was  well  exemplified  one  day  in  A.ugust,  L898.  A 
thistle  on  which  a  goldfinch  had  been  feeding  was  examined  and  ^u  its 
Leaves  and  the  ground  beneath  67  seeds  were  counted.  They  appeared 
perfect,  but  close  inspection  showed  a  slit  through  which  the  meaty 
kernel  had  been  deftly  removed.  On  the  30th  and  Mist  of  August, 
1 898,  the  goldfinch  was  seen  eating  seeds  of  the  sow  thistle  and  of  wild 
lettuce.  September  7.  L896,  six  birds  were  banqueting  on  seeds  of 
beggar-ticks  which  had  appropriated  several  square  vod>  in  an  outfield 
and  threatened  to  give  trouble  in  subsequent  seasons.  Four  young- 
sters, so  recently  fledged  that  they  allowed  me  to  approach  within  1»» 
feet  of  them,  gave  an  excellent  opportunity  (September  21,  L896)  to 
observe  how  goldfinches  U'vd  on  ragweed.  Often  they  would  all 
alight  on  the  same  plant  at  once,  then  they  would  wrench  oil'  the  seeds, 
crack  them,  extract  the  meat,  and  drop  the  shell,  their  actions  resem- 
bling those  of  a  canary  at  it>  seed  cup.  In  one  instance  three  alighted 
on  a  very  small  plant,  which  under  their  weight  bent  to  the  ground. 
Nothing  daunted,  they  clung  to  the  sprays,  heads  downward,  until 
they  touched  the  earth,  then,  shifting  their  position  so  as  to  hold  the 
stems  under  their  feet,  went  on  with  their  meal. 

About  the  middle  of  November,  1900,  a  flock  of  300  goldfinches  were 
noted  perching  in  luxuriant  ragweed  on  truck  land  of  the  Hungerford 
farm,  industriously  stripping  off  seeds.  The  work  of  such  an  army 
must  have  caused  decided  limitation  of  the  next  year's  growth.  During 
the  third  week  of  February.  1900,aflock  of  about  50wereseen  in  a  tangle 
of  trumpet  creeper  on  the  edge  of  the  bluff  (PI.  VI,  fig.  1).  They  were 
clinging  to  the  long,  partly  opened  pods,  extracting  seeds,  and  the  refuse 
of  their  meal  made  a  continual  flurry  of  floating  empty  seed  wings.  Dur- 
ing four  minutes  six  birds  that  were  somewhat  isolated  dropped  57  of 
these    seed    wings.       Feeding    on    the    trumpet    creeper    proved    to    be 

habitual  with  the  goldfinch  and  must  have  prevented  many  seeds  from 
spreading  Inland  over  lot  3  before  the  prevailing  river  winds.  The 
plant  is  a  mischievous  weed  at  Marshall  Hall.     In   L898  it  choked  out 

the  oats  in  one  part  of  a  patch  and  twined  around  nearly  half  the  corn- 
stalks in  a  held  near  the  liver.  It  was  bad  in  truck  plots  during  L899 
and  L900,  and  always  makes  tin4  breaking  up  of  old  pastures  a  serious 
undertaking  for  man  and  horse.  It  may  be  mentioned  in  passing  that 
the  downy  woodpecker  has  also  been  seen  picking  out  these  winged 
seeds,  as  well  as  taking  mullein  and  ragweed  seeds  from  the  stalk. 

Purple  Finch.  The  purple  finch,  though  it  habitually  i'vvds  in  trees, 
often  destroys  Seeds  of  noxious  plants.  On  the  L5th  and  L6th  of 
November,  L900,  a  thicket  of  giant  ragweed  that  had  made  a  l<>-foot 
growth  in  the  Bryan  kitchen  garden  (PI.  XIV,  fig.  1)  was  gay  with  a 
flock  <>f  30  finches  that  hung  on  the  sprays  while  they  stripped  off  the 


WEED    SEED.  77 

seeds  as  the  goldfinches  had.  One  bird  thai  was  watched  with  a  glass 
ate  L5  seeds  in  three  minutes. 

Chickadee.  The  Carolina  chickadee,  though  largely  insectivorous, 
was  atso  frequently  seen  hanging  head  downwards  in  ragweed  plants 
wrenching  off  seeds. 

Cardinal.  -The  cardinal,  when  observed  on  arable  land,  was  a  deni- 
zen of  hedgerows.  It  was  not  abundant  like  finches  and  sparrows, 
but  was  not  uncommon  in  loose  fto<  ks  of  ten  or  a  dozen.  In  company 
with  sparrows  it  often  foraged  a  little  way  out  from  cover  for  the 
larger  weed  seeds,  and  was  seen  picking  up  seeds  of  both  small  and 
giant  ragweed.  It  has  a  peculiar  habit,  shared  by  the  fox  sparrow, 
and  seen  sometime-  in  the  song  sparrow  and  the  white  -throat,  of 
cracking  and  eating  the  seeds  of  berries  and  other  fleshy  fruits;  a 
habit  probably  useful,  especially  when  seeds  of  the  blackberry  and 
other  fruiting  plants  that  invade  cultivated  land  are  selected. 

Blackbirds. — The  large  Hocks  of  crow  blackbirds  on  the  farm,  often 
numbering  from  2,000  to  3,000,  have  been  previously  referred  to.  If 
they  were  not  notorious  grain  thieves  they  would  be  famous  weed 
destroyers.  Even  as  it  is  they  were  sometimes  seen  eating  weed  seeds, 
and  in  spring,  when  grain  is  lacking,  they  probably  do  considerable 
good.  During  fall  and  spring  of  the  years  L899,  r.'<><>.  and  1901, 
flocks  of  from  ~>i)  to  1<»<)  cowbirds,  and  often  several  hundred  red- 
winged  blackbirds,  and  occasionally  as  many  as  a  thousand  rusty 
blackbirds,  assembled  on  the  farm.  They  fed  on  ragweed  of  wheat 
stubble  and  among  weeds  of  truck  area-,  and  doubtless  destroyed  an 
incalculable  number  of  seeds.  Thecowbird  and  the  red-winged  black- 
bird, according  to  Professor  Beal,  feed  on  weed  seed  to  the  extent  of 
more  than  half  their  annual  food  and  during  most  of  the  colder  half 
of  the  year  at  least  four-fifths. 

Meadowlark.  The  meadowlark.  though  it  gets  two-thirds  of  it- 
living  from  insects,  has  in  the  colder  months  a  voracious  appetite  for 
seeds.  On  the  Hungerford  farm  in  November.  L899  and  L900,  were 
two  flocks  of  meadowlarks,  and  on  the  Bryan  farm  a  single  flock  some- 
what scattered,  numbering  altogether  about  50  individuals.  They 
usually  divided  their  time  among  the  weeds  of  cornfields  both  old  and 

new.  the  ragweed  of  wheat  stubble,  and  the  miscellaneous  weeds  of 
truck  land.  On  one  occasion  birds  were  seen  eating  seeds  of  pigeon- 
grass  in  the  la>t  situation,  and  on  another  picking  up  seeds  of  ragweed. 
Mourning  Dove.  After  the  breeding  season  there  were  three  Mocks 
of  doves  and  three  of  bob  whites  distributed  like  the  meadowlarks.  Each 
flock  of  doves  contained  between  20  and  ."»<»  individuals.  One,  on  the 
Bryan  place,  fed  in  weedy  old  cornfields,  and,  after  the  wheat  had  been 
harvested,  amid  the  ragweed  of  wheat  stubble,  which  by  August  was 
18  inches  high.      A  bird  killed  from   this   flock    had   eaten,  in  addition 


78  1URDS  OF  A    MARYLAND  FARM. 

to  other  food,  seeds  of  yellow  sorrel,  spotted  spurge,  crab-grass,  and 

pigeon-grass.  Another,  on  the  upper  part  of  the  Hungerford  place. 
foraged  in  the  ragweed  of  wheat  and  oat  stubble,  and  in  a  heavy  crop 
of  crab-grass  and  pigeon-grass  in  a  cornfield  that  was  being  harvested. 

The  stomach  of  one  of  these  birds,  taken  November  17.  L899,  contained 
L50  ragweed  seeds,  ami  another  300  crab-grass  seeds.  The  third,  on 
the  lower  part  of  this  farm,  were  not  seen  in  stubble-fields,  hut  fre- 
quented forests  of  weeds  in  certain  orchards  and  truck  plots,  and 
apparently  made  their  whole  fare  on  the  seeds.  During  the  heavy 
snow  of  February.  L900,  doves  fed  in  a  wind-swept  pasture,  some- 
times appearing  to  pick  up  weed  seeds,  and  sometimes  assembling  in 
two  pits  10  feet  in  diameter  and  (3  feet  deep,  where  abundantly  fruited 
plants  of  pokeberry  were  growing.  At  live  different  times  the  flock, 
numbering  more  than  20,  was  flushed  from  the  pits.  Footprints  and 
red  stains  on  the  snow  showed  that  they  were  eating  berries  and  prob- 
ably their  seeds,  some  of  which  were  found  on  the  ground  after  the 
snow  had  melted.  Fruit-eating  birds,  which  take  the  berries  of  this 
plant,  void  the  seeds  uninjured  and  thus  disseminate  them,  but  doves 
grind  them  to  atoms  by  the  powerful  action  of  their  gizzards. 

Bobwhite. — One  covey  of  the  bobwhites,  which  has  already  been 
described  as  feeding  largely  on  wheat  in  its  season,  lived  on  the  upper 
part  of  the  Hungerford  place;  another,  still  larger,  which  to  judge 
from  its  droppings  took  practically  no  grain,  lived  on  the  lower  part; 
and  a  third  lived  on  the  Bryan  farm.  One  bird  from  the  first  covey, 
7  from  the  second,  and  5  from  the  third  were  shot  and  examined. 
These  13  had  taken  weed  seed  to  the  extent  of  63  percent  of  their  food. 
Thirty-eight  percent  was  ragweed.  2  percent  tick-trefoil,  partridge  pea. 
and  locust  seeds,  and  23  percent  seeds  of  miscellaneous  weeds,  such 
as  pigweed,  sheep  sorrel,  Pennsylvania  persicaria,  climbing  false 
buckwheat,  trumpet  creeper,  paspalum,  jewel-weed,  and  pigeon-grass. 
Though  the  stomachs  and  crops  were  not  well  tilled,  the  birds  had  eaten 
5,582  weed  seeds.  One  crop  contained  4:00  pigweed  seeds,  another 
500  seeds  of  ragweed.  The  latter  seeds,  which  are  cracked  open  by 
most  birds,  are  swallowed  whole  by  bobwhites  and  doves,  in  spite  of 
the  spiny  processes  which  besel  them.  One  bobwhite,  in  addition  to 
Other  food,  had  consumed  550  seeds  of  sheep  sorrel;  another  640  seeds 
of  pigeon-grass;  and  several  .'»<>  to  loo  seeds  of  jewel-weed. 

Extent  of  weed-seed  destruction.— Inspection  of  an  acre  of  truck  land 
between  two  converging  bushy  brooks  on  tin4  Hungerford  farm 
(November  l»i.  L899),  gave  a  very  satisfactory  idea  of  the  autumn 
work  of  weed-destroying  birds.  Crab-grass  and  pigeon-grass  formed 
a  low  undergrowth,  while  lamb's-quarters,  pigweed,  and  giant  rag- 
weed from  6  to  10  feet  high  rose  in  a  thick  weed  forest.  A  flock  of 
ir>  quail  foraged  in  the  center  of  the  area.  25  doves  were  scattered  over 
the  upper  end,  and  fully  200  native  sparrows  scurried  about  at  the 


SPECIES.  7'.' 

lower  end,  while  a  band  of  300  goldfinches  clung  t<>  the  ragweed  stalks 
plucking  off  seeds,  [f  we  make  the  fair  assumption  thai  the  birds 
remained  on  this  acre  of  plenty  long  enough  to  obtain  a  full  meal,  we 
can  reckon  approximately  the  destruction  wrought.  At  a  moderate 
estimate  20  seeds  apiece  may  be  allowed  for  the  goldfinches,  LOO  for  the 
narrows,  providing  that  they  were  from  crab-grass  or  pigeon-grass, 
and  500  for  the  doves  and  bobwhites,  or  a  total  of  46,000 seeds  destroyed 
at  a  single  breakfast. 

In  the  last  week  of  April  an  attempt  was  made  to  ascertain  what 
proportion  of  the  weed  seeds  ripening  on  tin4  farm  had  been  consumed 
luring  the  previous  half  year.  In  "the  wheat  field  of  lot  4.  where  at 
the  beginning  of  October  there  had  been  score-  of  seeds,  on  every  rag- 
weed plant,  it  was  difficult  to  find  in  a  fifteen-minute  search  half  a 
do/en  remaining.  In  the  truck  plot  of  lot  3,  which  had  borne  a  thick 
growth  of  pigeon-grass,  examination  of  an  area  where  there  had  been 
hundreds  of  seeds  the  autumn  before  would  sometimes  fail  to  disclose 
One.  and  in  a  mat  of  crab-grass  in  the  same  field  frequently  not  one 
was  left  <>ut  of  a  thousand  present  in  October. 

VII.— SPECIES. 

Having  discussed  under  the  heads  of  insects.  flesh,  fruit,  grain,  and 
weed  seed  the  elements  that  entered  into  the  food  of  the  bird-  at 
Marshall  Hall,  we  may  now  enumerate  the  birds  themselves  and  indi- 
cate as  fur  as  possible  the  economic  status  of  each  with  reference  to 
this  particular  farm." 

WATER  BIRDS. 

The  data  concerning  water  birds  are  so  limited  as  almost  to  preclude 
anything  more  than  a  list  of  species. 

GREBES. 

The  horned  grebe  (Colymbus  wwritui)  has  been  noted  on  the  river 
at  Marshall  Hall  in  December  on  two  occasions.  A  pied-billed  grebe 
\Podttymhm  podia ps)  was  diviner  in  the  bay  where  the  shore  curves 
up  to  the  calamus  swamp  December  L2,  L900  (PI.  Ill,  fig.  1).  During 
■ovemberand  December  as  many  as  a  do/en  grebes  may  often  be  seen 
on  the  .Mount  Vernon  flats,  on  the  Virginia  side  of  the  river.  Grebes 
feed  much  lesson  fish  than  is  popularly  understood,  and  probably  do 
little  harm  to  fisheries.  The  large  proportion  of  vegetable  matter  in 
their  food  renders  them  excellent  eating,  the  flesh  resembling  that  ^\' 
the  adult  pigeon  in  taste.  They  are  difficult  to  secure,  however,  as 
their  diving  habit  protects  them  from  all  but  the  mosl  persistent 
gunner-. 

o Whenever  h>t>  «it  species  of  birds  are  given  the  figure  placed  alter  a  name 
indicates  the  number  oi  stomachs  of  that  Bpeciee  which  were  examined. 


80  BIRDS    OF    A     MARYLAND    FA  KM. 

LOON-. 

The  common  loon  (Gavia  imber)  and  the  red-throated  loon  (Gavi< 
lumme)  have,  beer  noted  at  Marshall  Hall  by  Mr.  William  Palmer. 

MURRES. 

The  Briinnich  murre  (  Urialomvia)  has  been  noted  at  Marshall  Hal 
by  Mr.  William  Palmer. 


(JTLLS     VXD    TKKXS. 


!•_ 


The  herring  gull  (Zarus  argentatw)  and  the  ring-billed  gull  [La/n 
delawarensis)  occur  on  the  river  in  the  colder  half  of  the  year.  Dur 
ing  March  and  the  first  half  of  April  it  is  not  uncommon  to  see  from 
a  dozen  to  twenty  gulls  floating  between  the  farm  and  Mount  Vernon 
(PL  XVII,  fig.  2),  apparently  busy  fishing.  The  common  tern  (Sterna, 
hi/rv/ndc)  and  the  black  tern  {Hydroehelidon  nigra  mrinamensis)  have 
aiso  been  noted  at  Marshall  Hall. 

DUCK-.  GEESE,  AND  OTHEB  WATEB  FOWL. 

The  following  species  of  water  fowl  were  noted  on  the  river  at 
Marshall  Hall:  " 

Red-breasted  merganser  (Merganser  ser-  Redhead  (Aythya  americana). 

rotor).  Canvasback  (Aythya  vallisneria),  !. 

Hooded    merganser    (Lopkodytes    cucul-  Scaup  duck  (Aythya  marUa) . 

Iotas),  2.  Lesser  scaup  duck  l  Aythya  affinis),  L. 

Mallard  (Anas  boschas).  Golden-eye    (Clangula    clangula     ameri- 
Black  duck  (Anas  obscura).  cana). 

Baldpate  |  Ufareca  americana)t  1.  Buffle-head  (  Charitonetta  albeo 

Green-winged  teal  (NetHoncarolinensis).  Old-squaw    (Harelda    hy emails).     Noted 
Blue-winged  teal  ( Querquedula  discors) .  by  Mr.  William  Palmer. 

Shoveller  (Spatula  clypeata).  Canada  goose  (  Branta  canad*  nsis  I. 

Pintail  (DaJUa  acuta).  Whistling  swan  (Ofor  columManus) ,  1. 
Wood  duck  |  Mr  sponsa). 

Ducks  were  so  abundant  here  before  the  civil  war  that  they  were 
regularly  counted  on  for  the  larder.  As  late  as  L864and  L865  it  was 
not  uncommon  in  November  to  find  a  Hock  of  150  scaup  ducks  in  the 
Little  bay  by  the  calamus  swamp,  and  in  tin'  same  place  ten  years  ear- 
lier as  many  as  15  canvasbaeks  were  killed  at  a  shot.  It  is  now  rare 
for  half  a  dozen  ducks  ^\'  the  commonest  species  to  settle  in  the  bay. 
Across  the  river  on  the  Mount  Vernon  Hats  (1*1.  XVII,  fig.  2),  where 
there  is  an  abundance  of  wild  celery  (  Vallisneria  spiralis)^  Hocks  of 
from  25  to  200  ducks  are  occasionally  seen,  but  they  are  SO  contin- 
uously fusiladed  from  launches  that  run  down  from  Washington  an  J 
Alexandria  chat  they  are  soon  killed  or  driven  away.  Much  worse 
slaughter  is  wrought  by  the  *  bio-*  oim  at  night  or  in  the  early  dawn. 
These  'big'  guns  are  in  reality  cannon   mounted  in   gunning  skills. 


Bull.   17,  Biological  Survey,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agricultur 


Plate  XV. 


111 

iSiii% 

2  l^^JBt 'i^SflB 

Eaew-w* 

:!* 

HKfc-Ni 

rf 

Fig.  1.— Bobwhite. 


Fig.  2. -Woodcock. 


B,       17,  Biological  Survey,   U.  S    Dept.  of  Agr 


Plate  XVI. 


] 

PIMM    . '  *9t 

■  HI 

-     •  ^ 

™  "SE 

*~ T  52 

^Nr 

r^'^o 

■^  ^i  •«*■ 

* 

* 

•         X 

•  j 

1           1 

1 

■ 

■ 

1 

'.—Broom-Sedge  of  Lot  2.  Frequented  at  Night  by  Bobwhites. 


Fig.  2.— Partridge  Pea  Overspreading  Pasture  of  Lot  4.  Eaten  Extensively 

by  Bobwhites. 

The  pines  in  the  background  were  defoliated  by  the  pine  Baw-fly  in  the  spring  of  1900. 


8PB<  M  81 

They  arc  Loaded  with  a  pound  of  shot  that  kills  at  300  yards  or  more. 
The  use  of  the  big  gun  is  unlawful,  but  duck  pot  hunters  have  often 
eluded  the  authorities  by  throwing  the  gun  overboard,  having  pre- 
viously attached  a  string  and  a  large  cork,  so  as  to  insure  subsequent 
recovery.  Shooting  from  launches,  which  is  also  frequent  and  very 
destructive  in  this  vicinity,  is  against  the  law  in  many  places,  and 
should  be  generally  prohibited. 

The  stomach  <>t*  a  baldpate  that  was  taken  March  '2'l.  L902,  con- 
tained only  sprouting  wild  rice  and  the  stems  of  some  aquatic  plants. 
Cwo  hooded  mergansers  collected  November  15,  L900,  had  fed  exclu- 
sively on  small  fish.  A  lesser  scaup  duck  taken  on  the  same  day  had 
eaten  the  (daw  of  a  blue  crab  and  75  snails  (mostly  Amnicola  altUe8, 
with  a  few  Goniahosis  virginicus  and  Planorbis  aUyus),  The  stomach 
of  a  canva  back  killed  the  day  previous  contained  LOO  seeds  of  bulrush 
(Scirpus).  A  whistling  swan  killed  November  16  had  in  its  stomach 
one  bulrush  seed  and  a  mass  of  wild  celery  leaves  about  as  large  as 
the  ball  of  a  man's  thumb.  The  latter  plant  is  abundant  in  shallow 
water  about  Marshall  Mall,  and  gives  the  characteristic  flavor  to 
banvasbacks  and  other  water  fowl  that  feed  on  it. 

HERONS. 


The  following  herons  were  noted: 

Least  hit'  "-'i  (Ardetta  >  vUis).  Green  heron  (Ardea  vlrescens),  2. 

Great  bl        leron  (Ardea  herodias).  Black-crowned  night  heron   (Nycticorax 

Little  Line  heron  (Ardea  cxrvlea).  nycticorax  nsevius),  1. 

The  last  three  species  eat  fish  extensively,  but  also  take  other  food. 
One  of  two  green  herons  that  were  collected  contained,  besides  fish,  a 
large  spider,  a  giant  water  bug  (Belostomatidie),  and  20  dragon-Hies 
•  (Agrionidse). 

KAIL. 

The  toothsome  little  sora  rail  (JFbrzana  Carolina)  is  found  during 
I  August  and  September  amid  the  wild  rice  of  the  calamus  swamp.  The 
I  stomach  of  one.  when  examined,  contained  200  wild  rice  seeds. 


COOT. 


The  coot  (Fulicii    </,,*<  rl<-<in<t)  eats    mainly    wild   celery,    pond   weed 

(Potamogeton),  and  other  vegetable  food,  and  is  not  to  tmy  marked 

degree  piscivorous,  as  has  been  shown  by  the  examination  of  stomachs. 

It  is  frequently  caught  at  Marshall  Hull  in  fishermen's  nets.      A  coot 

bras  shot  on  November  2^  1901.     It  had  been  feeding  on  wild  celery 

tubers  or  stolons,  and  in  consequence  had  a  mosl  delicious  flavor.     It 

i  was  perhaps  not  quite  equal  to  the  canvas-back,  hut  was  certainly  not 

;  Inferior  to  the  redhead.     The  coot  should   in   time   take  the  place  on 

7222— No.  17—02 (> 


B2  BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

the  table  of  (liu-k-  and  other  waterfowl  that  are  fast  becoming  exter- 
minated. Coots  may  l»e  bought  in  Washington  at  the  rate  of  three  for 
25  cents,  while  canvas-backs  in  good  condition  can  not  be  had  for  less 
than  $3  a  pair. 

Dr.  B.  W.  Kverniann.  who  has  recently  made  a  careful  study  of  the 
coot,  says: 

I  have  been  very  much  interested  in  the  coot  as  an  article  of  food.  The  opinion 
of  those  who  have  put  themselves  on  record  in  the  books  is  almost  unanimous  that 
the  coot  is  worthless  as  food.  And  inquiry  among  my  ornithological  friends  here 
in  Washington  resulted  in  my  finding  only  two  or  three  who  had  ever  tasted  coot. 
The  majority  of  them  seemed  to  regard  eating  coot  very  much  as  we  regard  eating 
crow — a  tiling  not  to  be  thought  of  ! 

But  my  friends  Dr.  Fisher  and  Mr.  William  Palmer  admit  that  they  have  eaten 
coot  and  like  it.  They  even  say  they  regard  coot  as  not  at  all  inferior  to  the  famous 
canvas-back  duck,  and  in  this  I  agree  with  them  fully.  Coot,  particularly  young 
ones,  skinned  and  fried,  or  even  old  ones  parboiled,  then  baked,  are  quite  as  deli- 
cious as  any  duck  I  ever  ate. 

It  is,  however,  doubtless  true  that  the  delicacy  of  flavor,  not  only  of  the  coot,  but 
also  of  the  canvas-back  and  all  other  ducks,  is  largely  determined  by  the  kind-  of 
food  they  get.  The  wild  celery  (  VaMimeria  spiralis)  is  sufficiently  abundant  in 
Lake  Maxinkuckee  to  give  to  the  coot  frequenting  that  lake  a  delicate  flavor  which 
has  received  high  praise  from  all  who  are  familiar  with  it/' 

SHORE  BIRDS. 

Woodcock  (PJdlohela  minor*  PL  XV,  fig.  2)  are  not  uncommon  at 
Marshall  Hall.  On  both  the  Marshall  Hall  and  Hungerford  farms 
there  are  wooded  dells  of  less  than  an  acre  in  extent  containing  small, 
sluggish,  marshy  streams  communicating  with  the  Potomac.  In  these 
places  during  July  woodcock  are  always  to  be  found.  They  do  not 
feed  much  in  the  dells,  but  at  dusk  forage  out  in  the  neighboring 
cornfields,  and  so  destroy  harmful  insects.  Thus,  one  bird,  shot  June 
26,  1899,  in  this  spot,  had  eaten  wireworms  and  cutworms  in  addition 
to  earthworms,  fly  larva1,  and  May-flies.  At  the  junction  of  two 
bushy  brooks  on  the  lower  part  of  the  Hungerford  place,  woodcock 
occur  in  the  fall,  and  one  collected  November  15,  1900,  had  in  its 
stomach  two  beetle  larva1,  one  grape  seed,  and  two  seeds  of  bastard 
pennyroyal. 

Just  below  the  Hungerford  farm  is  a  wooded  swamp  of  a  dozen 
acres  where  woodcock  are  also  to  be  found.  It  is  impossible  to  pene- 
trate into  this  swamp  more  than  a  few  rods  without  sinking  to  the 
knees  in  a  black  ooze  composed  of  decayed  vegetation.  Woodcock 
are  not  found  in  this  soft  morass,  hut  are  confined  to  the  edges  and 
along  a  liny  alder-fringed  stream  which  issues  from  a  spring  at  the 
head  of  the  swamp.  A  favorite  feeding  ground,  located  where  this 
Stream  enters  the  forested  body  of  the  swam})  amid  elders,  magnolias, 
ashes,  willows,  and  maples,  was  inspected  in  July.  1  !»<)•_>.  and  in  an  area 


"Osprey,  Vol.  I  (new  series),  No.  4,  p.  64,  April,  1902. 


SPE<  LE8. 

b  rod  wide  by  several  long  the  ground  was  found  to  be  splashed  with 
the  chalk-like  droppings  of  the  birds,  and  in  spots  a  foot  or  more  in 
diameter  had  been  probed  to  such  an  extent  by  their  long  bill-  that  it 
reminded  one  of  a  colander.     The  holes  thus  made  were  from  1  to  2 

inches   in   depth.      An  examination  of  the  earth  showed  that  there  wa- 

a  compacted  layer  ot*  Mack  decaying  leaves  from  one-fourth  of  an  inch 

to    1    inch    in   depth.      Below  the   layer  of   leaves,  some   of  which  were 

not  so  rotted  but  that  they  retained  their  Integrity,  was  found  moist, 
yellowish-gray  sand.  Twenty  examination-  of  the  ground  were  made. 
each  within  a  few  inches  of  a  -pot  marked  by  the  borings,  in  order  to 
secure  specimens  of  invertebrates  on  which  the  woodcock  subsists. 
The  ground  was  dug  up  to  the  depth  of  several  inches,  and  in  the 
region  where  the  leaves  and  sand  met.  large  cumbers  of  earthworms, 
spiders,  snail-,  hydrophilid  beetle-,  ground-beetles  and  their  larva.', 
and  the  larva1  of  tipulid  flies  were  unearthed.  All  of  these  have  been 
taken  from  the  stomachs  of  woodcock  collected  elsewhere.  A  search 
was  made  out  in  the  middle  of  the  swamp,  where  the  black  humus  is 
from  6  inches  to  3  feet  in  depth,  but  no  food  of  any  consequence  could 
be  found,  which  may  account  for  the  absence  of  woodcock  in  the 
middle  of  tin1  swamp. 

On  the  creeks  below  Mar-hall  Hall  woodcock  are  abundant,  and 
during  the  fall  of  L901  were  slaughtered  in  enormous  numbers.  Law- 
limiting  the  bag  per  day  and  prohibiting  summer  shooting  are  greatly 
needed  in  this  county. 

A  Wil-on  snipe  ( tr>iJI'>ini<in  ddicata)  was  flushed  from  the  swamp  on 
the  upper  partof  the  Hungerford  farm  April  14.  L899. 

Two  yellowlegs  (Totanus  Jlavipes)  were  noted  on  October.').  1901, 
flying  along  the  shore  near  the  calamus  swamp. 

Solitary  sandpiper-  (Hdodromas  s&itwrius)  and  spotted  sandpipers 
(Actitis  macularia)  were  observed  most  often  in  May.  One  of  the  lat- 
ter birds,  which  was  killed  May  16,  1900.  had  eaten  one  large  black 
ant.  two  ground-beetle  larva',  and  a  dozen  May-flies. 

Two  killdeer-  {^Egialitis  wcifera)  were  seen  on  the  farm  April  11, 
1899,  and  one  July  24,  1902. 

The  turn-tone  (Armaria  morvndla)  ha-  been  noted  by  Mr.  O.  X. 
Bryan. 

GALLINACEOUS  BIRDS. 

On  the  Bryan  farm  a  covey  of  bobwhites  (Colimcs  virginianus,  PI. 

XV.  tig.  1 )  was  found  during  the  fall  and  winter  of  L901  along  Persim- 
mon and  Partridge  branches.  They  fed  in  the  wheat  stubble  on  the 
West  side  of  lot  3  (PI.  XII.  tig.  2)  and  slept  in  the  thick  broom-edge  of 
the  west  side  of  lot  2  (PI.  XVI,  tig.  1).  Another  covey,  which  usually 
inhabited  lot  .">.  could  occasionally  be  seen  feeding  on  tin4  luxuriant 
growth  of  partridge  pea  in  lot  4  (PI.  XVI.  tig.  2).     More  of  these 


84  BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

birds  than  usual  escaped  from  gunners,  and  the  following  spring  (1902) 
bred  about  the  farm.  One  pair  was  located  on  the  edge  of  the  cal- 
amus swamp,  <»nc  on  the  river  bluff  near  the  cabin,  one  in  the  mid- 
dle of  lot  4.  two  on  the  edge  of  the  wood-  of  lot  :>.  two  along  the  west- 
ern boundary  fence  of  the  farm,  and  several  along  Persimmon  and 
Partridge  branches.  They  were  still  incubating  during  the  last  week 
of  June.  The  cocks,  mounted  on  fence  posts  or  the  lower  branches 
i)i  tree-,  were  whistling  their  'Boh  White5  incessantly.  When  a 
cock  approached  its  mate  while  it  was  on  its  uest,  it  uttered  the  -oft 
rally  note  so  familiar  to  the  sportsman  in  the  fall.  This  was  followed 
by  a  caterwauling  much  more  unhirdlike  than  that  of  the  yellow- 
breasted  chat.  One  of  its  noises  resembled  that  made  by  a  cat  calling 
a  kitten.  Another  suggested  the  scolding  of  a  caged  gray  squirrel. 
Others  sounded  like  a  combination  of  the  alarm  note-  of  a  hen  grouse 
with  chicks  and  the  strident  cries  of  a  guinea  hen.  It  also  uttered  a 
loud,  rasping  noise  such  as  might  have  been  emitted  by  a  whip-poor- 
will  with  a  cracked  voice. 

In  their  feeding  these  birds  picked  dewberries,  gathered  scattered 
grain  in  wheat  stubble,  and  caught  grasshoppers,  ground-beetles 
(Har/xi/ a* jKiinxijI r<i/i/<-iis).  and  potato  beetles. 

The  nest  of  the  pair  located  in  lot  4  was  discovered  on  July  1»»  in 
the  center  of  the  lot  amid  some  thick  timothy.  It  contained  egos 
which  were  subsequently  destroyed  by  crows.  Young  bobwhites  are 
usually  hatched  before  this  time  at  Marshall  Hall,  according  to  the 
reports  of  farmers,  generally  during  the  last  week  of  dune:  but 
although  a  thorough  search  for  young  was  made  up  to  the  12th  of  July 
none  were  found.  Observations  were  suspended  until  the  24th,  when 
three  broods  were  found;  the  first  but  a  day  or  two  out  of  the  -hell. 
the  others  several  days  older,  but  still  unable  to  fly.  The  older  broods 
were  pointed  by  a  dog,  and  the  mother  birds  Hew  up  and  fell 
flopping  a  few  yards  distant,  feigning  broken  wings,  while  their  striped 
chicks  peeped  squeakingly  and  ran  with  surprising  swiftness  for 
cover.  In  order  to  ascertain  the  food  habits  of  these  young  without 
killing  them.  I  collected  some  of  their  droppings  and  subsequently 
examined  them.  The  remains  of  the  food  thus  found  proved  to  be 
entirely  animal  matter,  and  consisted  of  ant-,  true  bugs,  grasshoppers, 
ground-beetles,  weevils,  leaf-eating  beetles,  other  beetles,  spider-, 
and  thousand-legs. 

Thirteen  bobwhites  were  shot  in  the  middle  of  November,  1899, 
L900,  and  L901.  Vegetable  matter  formed  78  percent  of  their  food, 
and  of  this  all  but  8  percent,  composed  of  w  hite-oak  acorns,  wild  fruit, 
and  fruit  seeds,  was  weed  seeds.  Animal  matter  amounted  to  L9  per- 
cent, and  consisted  of  1  spider,  1  true  bug  {Alydus  euriniui),  L  para- 
sitic wasp  (Tiphia  inornata),  1  sphinx  caterpillar  (DetlephUa  galii), 
1  cutworm.   1  -mall  ground- beetle,  and  a  larva  of  another  specie-.   I 


SPECIES. 

L2~spotted  cucumber-beetle  (Diabrotica  1%-punctata),  1  potato-beetle 
(Doryphora  t0~lineata),1  leaf  -hoppers  (JP^ooania),  and  14  grasshoppers 
(•j.  Xiphidium  and  L2  Mdanoplus). 

The  freedom  with  which  the  bobwhite,  regardless  of  cover,  roams 
about  large  fields  pastures,  meadow-,  or  wheat,  tobacco,  corn,  or 
truck  land-  is  wry  striking.  The  rapidity  with  which  it  moves  from 
point  to  point,  whether  by  flying  or  running,  make-  it  less  dependent 
on  cover  than  most  of  the  birds  of  the  farm,  and  causes  it  to  feed  over 
far  more  territory  than  they.  A-  an  enemy  of  insect  pests  and  a 
destroyer  of  weed  -red  it  has  few  equals  on  the  farm.  It  is  the 
custom  at  Marshal]  Hall  to  -hoot  these  birds  for  market,  where  they 
bring  15  cent-  apiece,  a  price  that  scarcely  compensates  for  the  loss  of 
their  services. 

The  ruffed  grouse  {Bonasa  urribettvA),  though  rather  rare,  was  found 
breeding  here,  and  in  one  instance  a  bird  of  the  species  was  seen  flying 
over  the  Bryan  house. 

The  wild  turkey  (Mdeagris  gallqpavo  fera)  occurs  as  a  straggler  ai 
intervals  of  several  year-.  A  fine  gobbler  was  seen  at  4.30a.  m.  May  L6, 
1900,  in  lot  4.  hut  it  quickly  disappeared  amid  the  wheat.  The  next 
morning  it  was  seen  in  lot  '2:  but  on  discovery  it  rose  and  tlew  to  the 
woods  behind  the  calamus  swamp. 

PIGEONS  AND  DOVES. 

A  specimen  of  the  passenger  pigeon  (Ectqpistes  migratoriius)  col- 
lected at  Marshall  Hall  by  Mr.  (.).  X.  Bryan  was  donated  by  him  to 
the  Smithsonian  In-titution  in  1892. 

The  mourning  dove  (Zenaidura  tnacroura)  has  already  been  shown 
to  be  preeminently  a  seed  eater.  It  consumes  great  quantities  of  weed 
seed  and  is  a  useful  specie-  on  the  farm.  Three  stomach-  were 
collected. 

VULTURES. 

The  turkey  buzzard  (Cathartes  <i"r<i)  i-  a  useful  scavenger.  It- 
work  on  the  Bryan  farm  at  Marshall  Hall  ha.-  been  described  (see  p.  53). 

HAWKS. 
The  following  hawk-  were  noted: 

Marsh  hawk  {(Xrcus  kvdwniua),  1.  Broad-winged  hawk  I  BvJteo platypti 

Sharpehinned  hawk  (Acdpiter  velo  Golden  eagle  '  Aquila  chrysdei 

Coop.-r  hawk  i  Acdpiter  <  Bald  eagle  (Haliseetus  leucoceptud 

Red-tailed  hawk  |  lint,,,  ■  Sparrow  hawk  |  Falco sparveri 

Red-shouldered  hawk  [BvJteo  /;»r<itn.<)%  \.  Osprey    Pandion  hediaetus Caroline, 

The  species  which  are  injurious  t<>  poultry,  name,  and  fish  and  th<>-e 
which  are  useful  in  destroying  noxious  rodent-  have  already  been  di-- 


o  Recorded  on  authority  of  Robert  1..  Ferguson,  of  Washington,  1'.  C. 


86  BIRD-    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

cussed  (see  pp.  50-55).  A  stomach  of  each  of  the  following  hawk-  was 
examined:  Marsh  hawk,  red-shouldered  hawk,  and  broad-winged 
hawk.  The  firsl  contained  a  meadow  mouse;  the  second,  part  of  a 
crayfish  and  2frogs;  and  the  third,  -J.  beetles— a  May-beetle  {Lachnos- 
terna)  and  a  tumblebug  (' V,  ot '/■";><  8  vplendidm)  part  of  a  meadow 
mouse,  and  the  remains  of  4  short-tailed  shrews  and  a  snake  (Storetna). 

A  young  broad-winged  hawk,  old  enough  to  fly,  which  was  kept  for 
several  weeks,  exhibited  interesting  feeding  habits.  When  a  live 
mouse  was  placed  in  the  cage,  the  hawk  pounced  on  it  with  both  feet. 
sinking  its  talons  into  the  mouse's  vitals,  hut  not  once  using  its  beak 
until  after  the  death  struggle.  As  soon  as  the  mouse  had  been  struck 
the  hawk  uttered  continual  high-keyed  shrieks,  spread  its  wings  and 
tail,  and  pressed  them  against  the  ground  so  as  to  make  an  inclosure 
or  tent,  the  opening  of  which  it  guarded  with  its  beak.  No  such 
spreading  of  the  wings  and  tail  took  place  when  the  prey  consisted  of 
big  moths,  grasshoppers,  or  beetles.  When  a  three-quarters-grown 
English  sparrow  was  placed  in  the  cage  the  hawk  struck  it  a  blow  with 
one  foot,  clutching  and  killing  it  instantly.  Still  gripping  the  spar- 
row, it  pulled  the  head  off  with  its  beak  and  swallowed  it.  Next  it 
ripped  open  the  body  cavity  and  ate  the  whole  digestive  tract  at  one 
mouthful.  Then,  beginning  wTith  one  leg.  it  finished  the  sparrow  in 
four  more  mouthfuls. 

The  sparrow  hawk  is  the  most  useful  destroyer  of  insect  pests 
(grasshoppers),  while  the  marsh  hawk  is  the  most  valuable  enemy  of 
injurious  rodents.  During  the  fall  the  Latter  may  be  seen  skimming 
over  the  fields,  pouncing  upon  meadow  mice  and  remaining  for  some 
time  in  the  grass  eating  its  prey.  This  habit  has  made  it  an  easy 
mark  for  the  fanners  at  Marshall  Hall.  who.  on  seeing  it  drop  into 
the  grass  to  feed,  have  been  accustomed  to  run,  often  several  hundred 
yards,  and  shoot  it  as  it  rises.    . 

OWLS. 

Three  short-eared  owls  (Asio  aedpitrinus)  which  were4  killed  during 
November,  L899,  L901,  and  1902,  contained  nothing  but  meadow  mice. 

The  barred  owl  (Syrnium  varmm)* occurs  at  Marshall  Hall,  but  is 
not  common. 

On  May  30,  L892,  Mr.  E.  A.  Preble,  of  the  Biological  Survey,  col- 
lected 3  young  and  2  adult  screech  owls  (Megascops  asip)  and  a  great 
horned  owl  {Huh,,  mrginianus)  near  the  mouth  of  the  calamus  swamp 
on  the  Bryan  farm.  Screech  owls  are  of  much  economic  value,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  they  feed  largely  on  insects  and  do  not  destroy  birds 
or  poultry.  The  stomachs  of  those  taken  by  Mr.  Preble  contained 
May-beetle-  and  lizards.  In  the  stomach  of  the  great  horned  owl 
were  the  remains  of  several  dung-beetles,  insects  of   neutral   effect  on 

agriculture.  A>  a  rule,  this  bird  takes  few  insects  of  any  kind  and  is 
very  injurious  to  poultry. 


8PEOIE8. 


87 


CUCKOOS. 

One  black-billed  cuckoo  (Coccyzus  erythrophthalm/us)  and  2  yellow* 
hilled  cuckoos  (Coccyzus  america/nvs^  fig.  30)  were  collected  on  the 
Bryan  farm  in  the  latter  half  of  May.  They  had  eaten  1  spider,  1 
click-beetle,  1  sap-beetle  (Euphoria  inda),2  rose-chafers  (Macrodactyhis 
siibs/>iii<>sus),  lo  locust  Leaf -mining  beetles  (  Odontota  dorsaZds),  ^<»  beetles 
<>t*  the  firefly  family,  1  skipper  butterfly  (Mtdarmts),  20  caterpillars,  of 
which  is  were  the  repulsive,  large,  spiny,  black  larvae  of  the  mourning- 
cloak  butterfly  (  Vanessa  a nt'wpa)\  4  bugs,  of  which  1  was  a  green 
soldier  bug  (Nezara  hilaris),  and  another  Metapodius  femoratus,  (.0 
May-flies,  and  20  black  insects  related  to  the  dobson  and  known  as 
sin/ Is  infumata.  Rose-chafers,  which  are  very  destructive  insect-. 
are  eaten  by  only  a  few  birds.  The  skipper  and  cabbage  butterflies 
were  the  onlv  butterflies  eaten  by  Marshall  Hall  birds.     The  larvae  of 


Fifi.  30.— Yellow-billed  cuckoo. 

the  mourning-cloak  butterfly  are  often  selected  bv  cuckoos,  as  are  also 
other  hairy  and  spiny  caterpillars  that  other  birds  avoid.  Caterpillars, 
largely  in  such  forms,  make  half  of  the  cuckoo's  food,  grasshoppers 
and  their  allies  about  a  third,  and  beetles,  with  small  numbers  of  mis- 
cellaneous insects,  the  remaining  sixth.  The  cuckoo  is  not  abundant 
on  the  farm.  It  is  undoubtedly  the  most  useful  of  the  exclusively 
insectivorous  birds  found  at  Marshall  Hall,  because  of  the  protection 
it  gives  to  tin'  foliage  of  forest  and  orchard. 


KINGFISHERS. 


One  pair  of  kingfishers  was  seen  continually  along  the  shore  of 
lots  L  and  2  (PI.  Ill,  fig.  2),  and  another  pair  nested  in  the  sandy 
bluff   of   the    Hungerford   farm.     The  .food   of   the   bird   has   already 


88  BIRDS  OF  A  MARYLAND  FARM. 

been  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  piscivorous  habits  of  birds  (see 
p.  53).     The  stomachs  of  5  nestlings  were  examined. 

WOODPECKERS. 

The  following  woodpeckers  were  noted  at  Marshall  Hall: 

Downy  woodpecker  (Dryobates  pubescens),  Red-headed  woodpecker  I  Melanerpes  ery~ 

13.  throcephalus),  1. 

Yellow-bellied  sapsucker  (Sphyrapicus  va-  Eted-1  ellied  woodpecker  I  Mekmerpea  car- 

rius),  2.  oli n us  |. 

Pileated  woodpecker  i  ( 'eophlceus  pUeatus).  Flicker  |  Colaptes  auratus  i,  2. 

The  stomachs  of  13  downy  woodpeckers  were  collected.  All  con- 
tained insects  and  2  fruit — the  berries  of  smilax  and  poison  ivy. 
Ants  appeared  to  be  the  favorite  food,  having  been  eaten  by  all  the 
birds  except  one.  Beetles  and  their  larva?  had  been  eaten  by  8  birds. 
The  kinds  selected  were  click-beetles,  ground-beetles  (Amara),  dark- 
ling-beetles (Helqps  aerem))  and  longicorn-beetles  (Elaphidion).  Cat- 
erpillars, including  Cdtocala,  were  found  in  3  stomachs;  miscellaneous 
insects,  principally  fly-like  insects,  in  4;  snails  in  2,  and  spiders  in  7. 
Vegetable  food  amounted  to  one-fourth  of  the  whole,  a  proportion 
probably  diminished  by  the  fact  that  4  of  the  stomachs  were  those  of 
young  birds.  As  the  downy  woodpecker  feeds  largely  on  wood- 
boring  insects  and  other  species  that  infest  tree  trunks,  it  is  useful  in 
woodland  and  orchard. 

The  yellow-bellied  sapsucker  (fig.  31)  is  the  cause  of  all  the  maledic- 
tions that  have  been  heaped  on  the  woodpecker  tribe.  It  secures  a 
large  part  of  its  food  by  drilling  holes  in  tree  trunks  to  serve  as  wells 
for  collecting  the  sap  on  which  it  feeds.  Tn  examining  SI  stomachs 
of  this  woodpecker,  Professor  Beal  found  that  sapwood  or  alburnum 
formed  23  percent  of  their  contents,  a  circumstance  that  indicates  the 
importance  of  sap  in  the  economy  of  this  species.  Sap  itself  can  not 
be  detected  unless  the  stomach  is  examined  immediately,  which  is 
impracticable  in  the  case  of  stomachs  stmt  to  the  Department  of 
Agriculture. 

Several  authors  have  mentioned  the  fact  that  this  bird  kills  birches. 
The  following  field  notes  show  the  manner  in  which  it  works  injury  to 
apple  t  reos: 

In  the  summer  of  L895  there  was  on  the  Bryan  farm  a  little  orchard 
of  9  apple  trees,  about  twelve  years  old,  that  appeared  perfectly 
healthy.  In  the  fall  sapsuckers  tapped  them  in  many  places,  and 
during  spring  and  fall  of  the  next  four  years  they  resorted  to  them 
regularly  for  supplies  of  sap.  Observations  were  made  (October  L5, 
L896)  of  two  sapsuckers  in  adjoining  trees  of  the  orchard.  From  a 
point  20  feet  distant  they  were  watched  for  three  hours  with  powerful 
glasses  to  see  whether  they  i'vd  to  any  considerable  extent  on  ants  and 


SPECIES. 


other  insects  that  were  running  over  the  tree  trunks.  In  that  time 
one  bird  seized  an  ant  and  the  other  snapped  at  -<>me  flying  insecf. 
One  drank  sap  from  the  drills  30  and  the  other  11   times.     Later  in 

the  day  one  drilled  '2  new  holes  and  the  other  5.  The  holes  were 
made  in  more  or  less  regular  rings  about  tin1  trunk,  one* ring  close 
above  another,  for  a  distance  of  6  to  8  inches.  The  drills  were  about 
a  quarter  of  an  inch  deep,  and  penetrated  the  hark  and  the  outer  part 
of  the  wood. 


0  SS 


\ 


Fig.  81.— Yellow-bellied  sapsucker. 

In  November,  L900,  7  of  the  9  tree-  were  dead  and  the  others  wore 
flying.  A  strip  of  hark-  7  inches  long  by  2  wide,  where  the  sapsuckers 
had  worked  in  L896,  was  torn  oil  and  found  to  contain  84  drills,  an  aver- 
age of  •')  to  the  square  inch.  Many  of  them  were  so  close  together  that 
the  tissue  between  had  broken  down,  leaving  rents  in  the  hark  an  inch 
or  two  long,  and  in  some  place-  almost  girdling  the  tree.  The  loss  >f 
sap  must  have  been  an  exhausting  drain,  bul  it  was  not  the  sole  cause 
of   death.      Beetle-   of   the    Hat-headed    apple    borer,   attracted    by  the 


90 


BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 


exuding  sap,  hud  oviposited  in  the  holes,  and  the  next  generation, 
haying  thus  grained  an  entrance,  had  finished  the  deadly  work  begun 
by  the  sapsuckers.     Holes  made  by  birds  are  sometimes  closed  by 

burl-like  knobs  of  wood,  but  if  they  remain  open  the  death  of  the 
tree  from  borers  La  very  likely  to  result.  In  the  ease  of  the  trees 
killed  at  Marshall  Hall,  galleries  made  by  borers  had  honeycombed 
the  wood  beneath  the  section  of  hark  riddled  by  the  sapsuckers. 

Only  2  stomachs  of  sapsuckers  were  collected.  They  were  taken 
during  the  middle  of  November,  L899  and  L900,  and  contained  several 
dung-beetles  (Aphodius)  and  the  fruit  of  woodbine  and  red  cedar. 

The  red-headed  woodpecker  is  not  common  at  Marshall  Hall,  though 
it  was  seen  in  small  numbers  every  fall.     One  specimen  taken  NTovem- 


~uin 


FIG.  32.— Flicker. 


her  29, 1900,  among  the  swamp  oaks  south  of  lots  4  and  5,  had  eaten  gall 
insects  (Cynipidee)  and  many  bits  of  the  woody  tissue  of  the  gall. 
This  woodpecker  makes  about  half  its  food  on  vegetable  matter, 
largely  masl  with  some  berries,  and  selects  for  its  insect  food  chiefly 

beetles.  ants,  and  grasshoppers.      It  is,  on  the  whole,  useful. 

The  dicker  (fig.  32),  though  nesting  on  the  farm,  was  common  only 
during  migration,  when  it  was  seen  in  flocks  of  from  6  to  12.  A 
Stomach  collected  in  the  middle  of  November,  L899,  contained  10 
ground-beetles  (including  Anisodactylus^  If<n'/><i!>is  penrisyVoomicus^ and 
Ptero8tic}vuB  sayi\  5  ants,  1  sow  bug,  1  black  cricket  and  skin,  and 
20  seeds  of  woodbine  berries.     The  flicker  is  somewhat  more  insectiv- 


SPECIES.  91 

otou8  than  the  redhead.     Lts  vegetable  food  usually  consists  of  a  little 

masl  and  a  good  deal   of   wild    fruit.      It   [fi   less  of  a  woodpecker  than 

any  other  species  of  the  family,  for  it  is  much  less  arboreal  and  spends 
a  large  part  of  the  time  on  the  ground  securing  ants  with  it-  Long 
sticky  tongue.  As  many  as  .'>.<><><>  ants  have  been  taken  from  one 
Btomach.  So  important  Is  this  article  of  .Met  that  it  form-  three- 
fourth-  <>f  the  insect  food  of  the  species. 

WHIP-POOR-WILLS,     NIGHT-HAWKS,     SWIFTS,     AND     HUMMING- 
BIRDS. 

Whip-poor-wills  (Antrostonvus  vocifervs)  and  night-hawks  (Ohor- 
deiles  virginianiis),  two  exclusively  insectivorous  species,  are  highly 
useful.  The  former  was  frequently  heard,  and  the  latter  was  fre- 
quently seen  in  late  summer  as  it  soared  over  the  farm  after  ants. 

The  chimney  swift  {Chaetura  pdagicd)  is,  as  might  he  expected, 
wholly  insectivorous.  Three  birds  collected  July  is.  1898,  had  caught 
tin1  following  insects  on  the  wing:  One  small  bee  (Andrenidse),  3  bugs 
(Heteroptera),  and  34  weevils  (Sitones  htspicfadvs). 

The  ruby-throated  hummingbird  (TrochiVus  coVubrii)  feeds  on  insects 
and  the  nectar  of  flowers.  During  the  last  of  May  it  visited  the  flowers 
of  the  persimmon,  in  June  the  honeysuckle,  and  later  tobacco  and 
the  trumpet  creeper.  A  bird  that  was  shot  fresh  from  a  trumpet  flower 
had  eaten  1  little  green  bee  (Andrenidse)  and  1  minute  spider. 

FLYCATCHERS. 

The  following  species  of  flycatchers  have  been  noted  at  Marshall 
Hall: 

Scissor-tailed  Flycatcher  (Muscivora  forfiectfa).     Noted  by  Mr.  0.  N.  Bryan. 

Kingbird  i  Tyrannua  tiiranmis),  16. 

Great  crested  flycatcher  |  Myiarchus  crinitus),  4. 

Phu'bc  (Sayarnis  phcebe) ,  3. 

Wood  pewee  I  Oontdpus  virens),  11. 

Acadian  flycatcher  (JEhnpidonax  virescerm),  1. 

Sixteen  kingbirds  were  collected  from  Ma}T  28  to  July  30.  Insects 
formed  71  percent  and  fruit  29  percent  of  their  food.  The  fruit  con- 
sisted of  cherries,  sassafras,  wild  and  cultivated  mulberries,  elder,  and 
blackberries.  The  proportion  of  insect  food  was  not  SO  large  as  is 
typical  for  the  species,  a  circumstance  resulting  probably  from  the 
readiness  with  which  fruit  could  be  obtained.  Beetles  constituted  37 
percent  of  the  food,  grasshoppers  and  crickets  23  percent,  ants  and 
bees  4  percent,  parasitic  wasps 2  percent,  miscellaneous  insects,  includ- 
ing caterpillars  and  bugs,  3  percent,  and  spiders  2  percent.  Among 
the  miscellaneous  insects  were  a  stink  bug  (Hymenarcys  nervosa),  an 
assassin  bug  (Sinea  diademd),  and  a  whole  cabbage  butterfly  (Pieris 
rapse).     The  bees  included  small  wild  species  (Andrenidse)  and  drones 


92  BIRDS     OF      \     MARYLAND     FARM. 

of  honeybees..  The  parasitic  wasps  included  forms  of  the  families 
Ichneumonidse  and  Scoliidse.  ( )f  the  beetles,  which  were  by  all  means 
the  most  interesting  element  of  the  insect  food,  ground-beetles  (includi 
Lng  Anisodactylus  and  Cratacantfous  dubius)  furnished  2  percent,  tigers 
beetles,  soldier-beetles  {Chauliognathits  pennsylvanicus),  and  dung- 
beetles  (Atsenius  and  Aphodius)  3  percent,  and  injurious  beetles  of  the 
following  species  30  percent : 

hafer     \facrodactylus  subspinosus).  Locust  leaf-mining  beetle  (Odontota  dor* 

Southern  June-beetle  (AUorhina  nuHda).  salts). 

Shining  Leaf-chafer  |  Anomala).  Blister-beetle  |  Epicauta  cinerea). 

Sad  flower-beetle  I  Euphoria melancholica) .  Asparagus-beetle  I  CriocerU  asparag 
Long-horned  beetles  i  including  Leplura  t. 

Asparagus- beetles  and  blister-beetles  arc  scarcely  ever  eaten  by 
other  birds  and  rose-chafers  seldom;  hence  the  service  rendered  by  the 
kingbird  in  destroying  these  insects  and  others  of  an  injurious  charac- 
ter in  large  numbers  makes  it  one  of  the  most  valuable  allies  of  the 
farmer. 

Of  the  remaining  flycatchers  collected,  the  wood  pewee  and  the 
Acadian  flycatcher  are  purely  insectivorous,  and  the  phoebe  and  the 
great  crested  flycatcher,  though  subsisting  chiefly  on  insects,  quite 
often,  especially  in  late  summer,  vary  their  fare  with  fruit. 

One  Acadian  flycatcher  was  collected.  It  had  eaten  a  spider,  a 
parasitic  wasp,  a  long-horned  beetle,  a  leaf-beetle  (Crepidodera),  and 
a  banded-winged  horsefly  (CJirysops). 

Of  11  wood  pewees  all  had  taken  beetles,  including  click-beetles,  long- 
horned  beetles  (Leptwra  rubricd),  dung-beetles  (  Onthophagus  pennsyl- 
vanieus),  soldier-beetles  ((  %auiiognatlvm pt  nnsylvanicus),  locust  leaf- 
mining  beetles  (Odontota  dorsalis)  and  a  related  Leaf-beetle  (Haemonia 
nigricornis),  and  weevils  of  the  species  Pkytonomus  punotatus  and 
Sphenophorm  zese.  Seven  had  destroyed  parasitic  wasps,  including 
Braconidae,  Evaniidee,  Lchneumonidas  {Mesostewus  and  others),  and 
Scoliidse  {Ti/>/i<<r  inornatd)\  4-  had  eaten  Hies  (CMronornus,  Sapro- 
myza  vidgaris,  Ludlia  csesar^  and  other  muscid  flies);  1  had  taken  a 
moth;  and  3  had  eaten,  respectively,  a  caddis-fly,  a  May-beetle,  and  a 
spider.  Although  the  wood  pewee  destroys  large  numbers  of  injuri- 
ous insect-,  especially  beetles,  it  W'vds  so  eagerly  on  the  useful  para- 
sitic wasps  that  its  scarcity  at  Marshall  Hall  was  perhaps  fortunate 
for  the  owners  of  the  farms. 

Three  phoebe  (fig.  33)  stomachs  were  collected.  Their  contents  were 
chiefly  beetles  of  the  following  kinds: 

\dactylu8.  LachnosU  rna, 

Cidndela.  OdorUota  dorsalis. 

Chauliognathus  pennsylvanicus.  Orsodachna  atra. 

Canthon.  Oollops  quadriTnaculatus. 

Aphodius  inquinatu8.  Lema  trUineata. 
Onthophagus  /»  nnsylvanicus. 


SPEC]  ES. 


,♦:; 


In  smaller  numbers  the  birds  had  eaten  flying  ants,  parasitic  wasps, 
and  other  wasps,  bugs,  caddis-flies,  and  spiders.  One  had  tasted 
blackberries. 

Fourgreal  crested  flycatchers  were  collected  in  May.  Their  stomachs 
contained  May-flies,  ants  ( <  hmponotuspi  nnsylvanicus  and  other  forms), 
parasitic  wasps  (Ichneumonidse,  Scoliidse  (  Tiphia)  a,nd  Evaniidse),  bugs 
{J?u$chistus o,nd  Nesara  hUa/ris)^  and  beetles  (Curculionidse,  Elateridse, 
Cicindela  seocguttata,   Dicerca,  and  Odontota  dorsalis).     Despite  their 


Fig.  33.— Phoebe. 

taste  for  parasitic  wasps  both  phoebe  and  great  crested  flycatcher  are  in 
the  main  useful  on  account  of  the  large  number  of  insect  pests  they 
destroy. 

HORNED  LARKS. 

When  the  horned  lark  (Otocoris  cdpestris)  occurred  at  Marshall 
Hall,  as  it  did  occasionally  in  severe  winter  weather,  it  subsisted  almost 
entirely  on  seeds,  largely  weed  seeds, often  with  waste  grain.  A  bird 
collected  during  the  severe  blizzard  of  February,  L900,  was  feeding  in 
a  wind-swept  cowyard,  where  it  secured  a  bit  of  a  kernel  of  corn.  4 
seeds  of  lamb's-quarters,  s  of  crab-grass,  1<>  of  bastard  pennyroyal, 
and  12  of  rasrweed. 


BLUE  JAYS  AND  CROWS. 


Six  blue  jays  (Cyarwcitta  cristata,  fig.  34)  were  collected  in  May 
and  November.  All  except  one  bad  taken  insects.  Beetles  were  the 
most  important  element  and  comprised  ( fhlcmiu8  sestwus,  Lachnost  rna, 


94 


HTKI>S    OF     A    MARYLAND    FARM. 


Euphoria fulgida,  Onthqphagus,  Elateridse,  and  Curculionidse.  The 
less  important  element  was  composed  of  parasitic  wasps,  May-flies, 
and  grasshoppers  (Locustidse).  One  bird  had  eaten  a  snail  and  one  a 
spider.  One  had  taken  mulberries  and  all  had  eaten  acorns.  Mast 
formed  half  the  total  volume  of  food.  None  of  these  six  specimens  had 
eaten  grain,  which  usually  enters  into  the  blue  jay*-  food  to  some 
extent,  and  in  certain  localities  in  New  Hampshire  that  came  under 
direct  observation  furnished  a  significant  part  of  it.  The  blue  jay 
takes  about  three  times  as  much  vegetable  as  animal  food.  It  appears 
to  do  no  harm  at  Marshall  Hall  and  consumes  a  fair  quantity  of  injuri- 
ous beetles,  grasshoppers,  and  caterpillars. 

The  common  crow  (( 'orvus  americanus)  was  much  more  numerous  on 
the  farm  than  the  fish  crow  ( ( 'orvus  ossifragus).  Four  stomachs  of  the 
former  species  were  collected.  In  the  case  of  this  bird,  which,  as  has 
been  shown,  attacks  poultry  and  grain  (see  pp.  i)<>  and*').')),  protection 


?^0m    i 


is  not  desirable  at  Marshall  Hall.  Elsewhere  the  species  may  do  as 
much  good  as  harm,  perhaps  even  more,  but  here  local  conditions 
make   encouragement    of    its   presence    incompatible   with    prudent 


farming. 


ME  ADO  WL  ARKS,  BOBOLINKS,  AND  COWBIRDS. 


The  meadowlark  {SturneUa  magna)  is  one  of  the  class  of  highly  use- 
ful birds.  It  is  commonly  supposed  to  be  largely  vegetarian,  but  it 
really  takes  about  three  times  as  much  animal  matter  as  vegetable. 
One-third  of  this  major  part  is  usually  composed  of  grasshoppers, 
though  these  insects  were  not  abundant  enough  at  Marshall  Hall  to 
enter  largely  into  the  food  of  the  7  meadowlarks collected.  Injurious 
beetles  and  caterpillars,  however,  were  taken  in  customary  quantities. 
The  meadowlark,   which  is   commonly  regarded  as   a   game  bird  at 


8PECIE8, 


95 


Marshall  Hall,  is  frequently  shot,  and  its  valuable  work  as  a  destroyer 
of  weed  seed  and  insects  is  thus  often  cut  off. 

When  the  bobolink  {Dolickonyx  oryzwonis^  fig.  35)  tarries  on  the 
farm  in  its  southward  migration  it  lives  wholly  on  the  wild  rice  of  the 
calamus  swamp,  I >ut  on  its  return  journey  in  May  it  <-at-  injurious 
insects  and  weed  s(^h\  of  the  wheat  and  clover  fields.  Six  stomachs 
were  collected  in  May. 

Tin4  cowbird  {Molothrus  ater),  as  has  been  shown  by  Prof.  I-'.  E.  L. 
Heal."  takes  three  times  the  volume  of  seeds  that  it  takes  of  insects. 
Both  of  the  -I  stomachs  examined  contained  grasshoppers  (Xvphidium 
and  Mdanoplus)  and  1  of  them  leaf-hoppers,  two  elements  character- 


Fig.  36.— Bobolink. 


istie  of  the  insect  food  of  the  species.  The  bird  does  little  damage 
to  grain  fields,  and  renders  much  service  with  other  birds  in  reducing 
the  weed-seed  harvest  of  the  farm. 


BLACKBIRDS  AND  ORIOLES. 

The  red-winged  blackbird  (Agelavus  phcenicem^  fig.  36),  however 

destructive  to  grain  it  may  he  elsewhere, does  no  damage  in  the  grain- 
fields  at  Marshall  Hall.  Its  insect  food,  which  is  to  its  vegetable  food 
as  one  to  three,  is  composed  largely  of  weevils,  caterpillars,  and  grass- 

a  Bobolink,   Blackbirds,  and  Grackles.     Bull.  No.  VA,  Biological  Survey,  Pept.  of 
Agriculture,  p.  29,  1900. 


96 


BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 


hoppers.  Its  good  work  among  weeds  bus  been  previously  described 
(see  ]>.  77).  Eight  stomachs  were  examined,  but  with  little  significance 
of  result,  for  the  temporary  abundance  of  May-flies  had  diverted  the 
birds  from  insect  pests. 

One  stomach  of  the  rusty  blackbird  (Scolecophagus  carolmus)  wad 
collected  April  L4,  L899.  It  contained  beetles  (JBdrpakts  and  8itonei)\ 
1  caterpillar.  1  small  bee,  and  some  waste  corn.  The  character  and 
extent  of  weed-seed  destruction  by  rusty  blackbirds  on  the  farms  at 
Marshall  Hall  has  been  shown  on  p.  77. 

('row  blackbirds  (QuiscaZus  quiscula)  have  been  proved  by  examina- 
tion of  thousands  of  stomachs  to  take  fully  twice  as  much  vegetable  as 
animal  food,  the  vegetable  food  being  chiefly  grain  and  fruit.  And  at 
Marshall  Hall,  after  the  young  were  established  in  life  and  the  hosts  of 

Northern  birds,  includ- 
ing the  subspecies  Quw- 
calus  quiscala  aeru  us,  had 
arrived,  systematic  pil- 
lage of  grain  fields  took 
place  (see  j).  67),  which 
could  be  cheeked  only  by 

the  shotgun.  Twenty- 
five  stomachs  of  thespe- 

cies  were  examined. 

Theorchardoriol  e 
(IcU  rus spuriiis)  is  a  sum- 
mer resident  at  Marshall 
Hall  and  may  usually  be 
found  nesting  during  the 
breeding  season  to  the 
extent  of  a  dozen  pairs,  though  the  present  summer  (1902)  formed 
an  exception  to  this  rule,  the  usual  number  being  reduced  to  2  or  8. 
The  food  of  this  species,  as  shown  in  11  stomachs  collected  during 
May  and  June,  was  composed  of  (.»1  percent  animal  matter  and  9  per- 
cent vegetable  matter.  The  latter  part  was  nearly  all  mulberries; 
the  former  was  distributed  as  follows:  Fly  larvae,  1  percent;  parasitic 
wasps,  2  percent;  ants,  4  percent;  bugs,  5  percent;  caterpillars,  12 
percent;  grasshoppers,  including  a  few  crickets.  L3  percent;  beetles, 
14  percent;  May-Hies,  27  percent;  spiders.  L3  percent.  Thus  bene- 
ficial insect-  parasitic  wasps  formed  only  2  percent  of  the  food,  and 
injurious  species — caterpillars,  grasshoppers,  and  harmful  beetles — 
amounted  to  38  percent. 

fldie  Baltimore  oriole  (Icterus  galbula)  is  also  a  highly  insectivorous, 
useful  species,  but  occurs  at  Marshall  Hall  only  during  migration. 
One  bird  was  collected  May  29,  L896.  It  had  eaten  mulberries,  2 
small  wasps,  2  fall  webworms,  1  click-beetle,  and  15  locust  leaf-mining 
beetles. 


Fig.  86.— Red-winged  blackbird. 


Fig.  1.— Bluebird  at  Edge  of  Nest  with  Grasshopper 
in  Mouth. 

From  photograph  l>y  Rev.  !'.  B.  Peahody. 


Fig.  2— Former  Nesting  Site  of  Bluebirds  on  Lawn  at  Bryan  Farm. 

The  hole  used  by  the  birds  may  be  seen  aboul  halfway  to  the  top  of  the  tree  againsl  which 
the  gun  i-.  leaning.    \s  in  Plate  I  Mounl  Vernon  Is  to  be  seen  in  the  distance. 


s. 

FINCHES  AND  SPARROWS. 

One  purple  finch  (Oarpodacus  purpureus)  was  collected  (February 
gO,  L900)  from  a  flock  feeding  on  cedar  berries.  Examination  revealed, 
therefore,  only  remains  of  this  fruit. 

Specimens  of  the  red  crossbill  (Loxia  curvirostra  minor)  and  the 
white-winded  crossbill  {Loxia  leitcoptera)  were  collected  at  Marshall 
Hall  by  Mr.  0.  N.  Bryan,  who  presented  them  to  the  [  .  S.  National 
Museum. 

Eleven  goldfinches  {Astragalirms  tristis)  were  collected.  [nsects 
(caterpillars)  had  been  eaten  by  only  one.  practically  all  the  food  con- 
sisting of  seeds,  principally  weed  seeds.  The  goldfinch  is  probably 
the  most  useful  seed-eater  on  the  farm. 

Several  pine  siskins  (Spimcs  pinus)  were  seen  December  1,  L901, 
in  company  with  goldfinches. 

The  following  native  sparrows  were  noted: 

Vesper  sparrow  I  Pocecetes  gramineus). 
Savanna  sparrow  i  Ammodramus  sandwichensis  savanna),  1. 
Grasshopper  sparrow  |  Ammodramus  savannarum  passerinus),  10. 
Henslow  sparrow  (Ammodramus  henslovri),  1. 

White-throated  sparrow  (Zonotrichia  albicollis),  17. 
Tree  sparrow  (SpizeUa  monticola),  9. 
Chipping  sparrow  (SpizeUa  sociolis),  61. 
Field  sparrow   (SpizeUa  pusilla  },  31. 
unco  (.In iicn  hyemalis),  11. 
Bong  sparrow  I  Melospiza  melodia),  36. 
Lincoln  sparrow  (Melospiza  lincolni). 
Fox  sparrow  (Passerella  iliaca). 

From  May  to  September,  inclusive,  half  the  food  of  field,  song, 
chipping,  and  grasshopper  sparrows  consists  of  insects.  The  grass- 
hopper sparrow  is  the  most  insectivorous  of  the  four,  but  a  descrip 
tion  of  the  insect  food  taken  by  it  at  Marshall  Hall  will  serve, 
because  of  similarity,  to  indicate  that  of  the  other  three.  The  main 
part  was  composed  <>f  hectics,  caterpillars,  and  grasshoppers.  The 
beetles  included  Sitones  Mspidulus,  Drasterius,  Systena  elongata, 
Systena  I>I<iik1<i.  CoU isj>!s  hrunnea,  Anisod-actylus,  and  Atsenius. 
BThe  caterpillars  belonged  chiefly  to  the  family  Nbctuidae,  including 
|  many  cutworms  and  army  worms.  Caterpillars  of  the  family  (ieome- 
tridse  were  occasionally  eaten.  The  grasshoppers  were  of  the  genera 
Xiphidiurn,  Scudderia,  Melanoplus,  Hippiscus,  and  Dissosteira.  The 
following  bugs  also  had  been  eaten:  Corizux,  Trichopepla  semwittata, 
Hymenarcya  nervosa,  and  Alydus  pilosulus.  Spiders  were  frequently 
taken. 

The  chipping  and  field  sparrows  sometimes  destroy  small  numbers 
of  useful  parasitic  wasps,  and  the  song  sparrow  now  and  then  eat-  the 
(ess  beneficial  smaller  ground-beetle-.     The  insectivorous  habits  of  all 
72l>l>— No.  L7—02 7 


98  BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

these  native  species  arc  on  the  whole,  however,  extremely  valuable  to 
man.  The  consumption  of  weed  seeds,  the  chief  service  of  these 
birds  as  well  as  of  those  that  visit  the  farm  only  in  the  colder  season, 
has  already  been  emphasized  (see  p.  7*2).  For  a  detailed  account  of 
the  food  habits  of  sparrows  the  reader  is  referred  to  'The  Relation 
of  Sparrows  to  Agriculture. 'a  As  there  shown,  and  as  set  forth  in 
the  first  part  of  this  bulletin  (see  p.  17),  the  English  sparrow  differs 
radically  in  habits  from  the  native  sparrows  and  is  a  pest  that  should 
be  exterminated. 

One  towhee  (Plpllo  erythrophthalmus)  was  taken  September  %. 
1896.  Its  stomach  was  found  to  contain  a  locust  leaf-mining-  beetle,  a 
weevil,  a  ground-beetle,  a  bug,  a  cricket,  0  ants,  and  remains  of 
broken  seeds. 

Ten  cardinals  ( Cardinalis  cardinalis)  were  collected  from  February 
to  November,  inclusive,  with  the  omission  of  March.  Twenty-two 
percent  of  their  food  consisted  of  animal  matter  (insects  and  spiders) 
and  78  percent  of  vegetable  matter  (half  fruit  and  half  seeds).  Of  the 
minor  proportion,  bugs  formed  1  percent;  spiders,  May-flies,  and 
grasshoppers,  each  2  percent,  and  beetles  15  percent.  The  beetles 
were  as  follows:  Agrilus  egenus,  Dlcerca  obscura,  Macrodaetylus  suth 
spinosus,  JQonada,  Odontota  dor  sails,  IlyperplatyxaxjH'rsux,  Anisodac- 
t yl 'us  agricola.  On  November  29,  1901,  two  cardinals  were  noted 
eating  seeds  of  the  tulip  tree. 

One  stomach  of  the  indigo  bird  (Cyanosplza  cyaned)  was  examined. 
It  held  1  beetle  {Agrilus  egenus)  and  a  little  vegetable  debris. 

TANAGERS. 

At  Marshall  Hall  tanagers  were  never  detected  pilfering  cultivated 
fruit,  as  they  have  often  been  known  to  do  elsewhere. 

One  summer  tanager  {Piranga  rubra),  collected  August  5,  L898,  had 
eaten  wild  blackberries,  a  bee  (Agapostemon),  and  a  scoliid  wasp. 

Three  scarlet  tanagers  (Piranga  erythromdas),  taken  in  Ma}T  and 
August,  had  fed  exclusively  on  insects,  which  comprised  a  bee  (Halic- 
tw),  parasitic  wasps,  white  ants,  a  soldier  bug  (Nezara  hilaris\ 
click-beetles,  darkling-beetles  (II<l<>j>x  micans),  and  the  sad  flower- 
beetle  (Euphoria  melanckolica). 

SWALLOWS. 

The  following  swallows  were  noted: 
Purple  martin  (  Progne  mbis),  2. 
Barn  swallow  (Hirundo  erythrogastra),  10. 
White-bellied  swallow  |  Tachycineta  bicolor),  5. 
Bank  swallow  (Ripariariparm),  6. 
Rough-winged  swallow  (Stelgidopteryx  serripennis),  7. 

''The  Relation  of  Sparrows  to  Agriculture.  Bull.  No.  15,  Biological  Survey,  Dept. 
of  Agriculture,  Washington,  1CJ01. 


SPECIES. 


99 


Thirty  swallows,  collected  between  the  middle  of  May  and  the  middle 

of  August,  had  eaten  nothing  but  insects.  Parasitic  wasps  and  beea 
formed  2  percent  of  their  food  (less  than  usual  with  aerial  feeders), 
bugs  3  percent,  May -flies  8  percent,  beetles  L3  percent,  white  ants  2] 
percent,  ants  :;:;  percent,  and  miscellaneous  insects,  principally  flies 
with  a  few  bugs,  20  percent.  The  form-  selected  were  bees  of  the 
family  Andrenida\  and  parasitic  wasps  of  the  families  Scoliidffi,  Ich- 
neimionida\  and  Chalcididse.  Tin'  beetle  food  was  interesting,  for 
besides  click-beetles,  dung-beetles (Apkodivs  inguinattts,  Hister,  Af;>- 
nius,  and  < Inthophagvs  pennsylvanicus),  weevils  of  several  species, 
and  metallic  woodborers  (Agrilus),  it  included  the  engraver  beetles 
(among  them  Tomicua  oocogrophtts),  which  are  destroyed  by  only 
few  other  birds.  Tin1  food  of  swallow-  is  peculiar  in  its  Lack  of 
caterpillars  and  grasshoppers,  which  are  so  important  to  the  subsist- 
ence of  other  birds.  As  with  flycatchers,  the  number  of  flies  taken 
is  generally  overestimated.  In  the  stomach-  examined  were  found 
Bnipe-flies  (Leptidse),  golden-green  flesh-flies  (Lucilia  caesar),  and  other 
muscithe.  with  an  occasional  banded-winged  horse-fly  (Chrysops). 

CEDAR  BIRDS. 

The  cedar  bird  (Ampelis  cedrorum,  fig.  37)  is  the  most  frugivorous 

of  the  Marshall  Hall  birds.     More  than  four-fifths  of  its  food  was 


Pig.  37.— Cedar  Mid. 

fruit,  the  remainder  insects.  Though  often  troublesome  elsewhere, 
it  does  no  harm  here,  and  accomplishes  some  good  through  its  slightly 
insectivorous  habit.  Five  stomachs  were  collected  in  May.  One  con- 
tained cherries,  one  mulberries,  and  a  third  smilax  berries.  Insect- 
(locust  Leaf-mining  beetles  and  May-flies)  were  found  in  three. 


LOO  BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 


SHRIKES. 


The  impaling  of  grasshoppers  and  mice  )>y  the  loggerhead  shrike 
(Lanius  Ivdovicianus)  near  the  storage  barn  has  already  been  men* 
tioned  (see  p.  54).  The  only  other  field  observation  was  on  Octo- 
ber 23,  L901,  when  a  shrike  near  the  same  place  was  seen  to  kill  a  gar- 
ter  snake  (Evtai/nia)  L3  inches  Long.  Owing  to  the  small  number  at 
shrikes  at  Marshall  Hall  no  specimens  were  taken,  hut  in  order  to 
investigate  the  feeding  habits  some  experiments  were  carried  on  with 
a  captive  bird  given  me  by  Mr.  William  Palmer.  The  habit  the  bird 
ha-  of  impaling  prey  has  been  the  subject  of  considerable  speculation, 
some  writers  maintaining  that  it  gibbets  its  victims  alive  for  the 
pleasure  of  watching  their  death  struggles,  and  others  that  it  slaugh- 
ters more  game  at  a  time  than  it  can  eat  and  hangs  up  the  surplus  to 
provide  against  a  time  of  want.  This  theory  of  prudent  foresight 
may  explain  why  it  kills  more  game  than  it  can  eat.  but,  as  the  experi- 
ments showed,  it  does  not  touch  the  real  reason  why  it  impale-  its 
prey. 

On  the  day  after  the  shrike  in  question  was  captured  a  dead  mouse 
was  offered  it.  The  shrike  raised  its  wings,  moved  its  tail  up  and  down 
petulantly  after  the  manner  of  the  phcebe.  and  then  seized  the  inou>e 
and  dragged  it  about  for  several  minutes,  trying  to  wedge  it  into  first 
one  and  then  another  corner  of  the  cage.  Failing  in  this  effort,  it  tried 
to  impale  the  mouse  on  the  blunt  broken  end  of  a  branch  that  had  been 
placed  in  the  cage  for  a  perch,  but  the  body  fell  to  the  floor.  Then  it 
tried  to  hold  the  mouse  with  its  feet  and  tear  it  to  pieces,  but  its  feet 
were  too  weak.  A  nail  was  now  driven  into  the  cage  so  as  to  expose 
the  point.  Immediately  the  shrike  impaled  its  prey,  fixing  it  firmlyi 
and  then  fell  to  tearing  and  eating  ravenously.  Several  days  later  the 
nail  was  removed  and  a  piece  of  beef  was  given  to  the  shrike.  By  dint 
of  hard  work  it  managed  to  hold  the  beef  with  its  feet,  so  that  it  could 
bite  off  pieces;  but  it  much  preferred  to  have  me  do  the  holding,  when 
it  would  perch  on  my  wrist  and  pull  oh"  mouthfuls  in  rapid  succession. 
These  experiments  indicate  that  the  shrike  is  unable  to  tear  to  piecei 
food  that  is  not  securely  fixed.  Hawks  can  grip  their  food  with  their 
powerful  talons  and  then  easily  tear  it  into  pieces  small  enough  to  be 
swallowed,  but  the  shrike'-  feet  have  not  a  sufficiently  vigorous  clutch 
to  permit  this  method. 

A  -eric-  of  experiments  in  feeding  insects  to  this  shrike  was  alsa 
carried  out.  If  tin1  bird  was  very  hungry  it  did  not  impale  insects. 
When  offered  a  grasshopper  (Hippiscus) at  such  times,  it  would  clutch 
it  with  one  foot.  and.  resting  the  bend  of  it-  leg  on  the  perch,  bite  ofl 
mouthful-  and  swallow  them.  When  not  very  hungry  it  impaled 
grasshoppers  and  caterpillars  {Sphinx  <-<ifiilj>;>).  Such  prey  as  the 
thousand-legs,  centipedes  (Lithobius),  house-flies,  and  blow-flies  (Oal4 


9FE0I]  1"1 

Hphora  vomltoria),  and  in  a  single  instance,  a  mourning-cloak  butter- 
fly, it  ate  at  ;i  single  gulp,  but  very  large  insects,  such  as  tumblebugs 
[Coprts  Carolina),  it  always  impaled.  It  refused  larvae  of  the  mourn- 
ing-cloak butterfly,  the  forest  tent  caterpillar,  the  fall  webworm,  and 
the  tussock  moth.  It  would  not  eat  a  skin-beetle  (  Tf<><).  hut  took 
with  relish  May-beetles (Lachnosterna),  flower-beetles {  Trichius  piger\ 
and  Long-horned  beetles  (Mbnohammus).  Insects  provided  with  espe- 
cial protective  devices  were  used  in  some  of  the  experiments.  Drone 
and  worker  honey  bees  were  eaten,  but  with  no  apparent  relish.  The 
highly  flavored  cabbage  bug  (Murgantia  histrionica)  was  rejected,  lmt 
its  near  relative  (  Euschistus),  a  stink  bug,  was  greedily  devoured.  The 
investigation  of  insect  food  was  concluded  with  tests  by  means  of  cer- 
tain beetle-  possessing  ill-tlavored.  highly  irritating  secretions.  A 
burying-beetle  (Silpha  inmqualis),  a  12-spotted  cucumber-beetle  (Dia- 
hrotica  1%-punctata),  and  a  blister-beetle  (Ejrica/uta  r!tf<it<i).  were 
refused,  lmt  an  oil-beetle  [Melot  angustiooUis),  provided  with  very 
powerful  irritating  secretions,  was  eaten  with  relish.  The  moth  of 
the  salt-marsh  caterpillar,  an  insect  with  a  vile  odor,  was  also  very 
palatable.  Thegreen  ground-beetle  ( <  'alosama  scrutator),  which  throw- 
out  a  nauseous  volatile,  acid  fluid,  highly  irritating, was  tried.  When 
this  big  insect  was  placed  in  the  cage,  the  shrike  seized  it  by  the  pro- 
thorax,  bit  it  vigorously  and  knocked  off  its  head,  and  then  impaled 
the  body.  The  beetle's  pungent  odor  tilled  the  room,  but  the  shrike 
removed  the  elytra  with  it-  bill,  and  after  Swallowing  the  thorax 
bolted  the  abdomen  at  a  gulp.  In  the  next  experiment  a  Calosoma 
was  so  presented  to  the  shrike  that  the  latter  had  to  seize  it  by  the 
tip  of  the  abdomen.  The  beetle  ejected  its  irritating  ill-smelling  secre- 
tion full  in  the  bird's  face.  The  shrike  staggered  an  instant,  then  flew 
to  the  farther  Bide  of  the  cage,  apparently  in  distress.  It  was  several 
day-  before  it  dared  to  accept  another  Calosoma* 

A  series  of  experiments  with  mice,  birds,  and  other  vertebrates  was 
also  made.  When  a  live  mouse  was  placed  iu  the  cage  the  shrike  gave 
chase,  half  running,  half  Hying.  It  soon  caught  the  animal  by  the 
loose  skin  of  the  back,  but  quickly  let  go  because  the  little  rodent 
turned  on  it  savagely.  In  tin4  next  attack  it  seized  the  mouse  by  the 
back  of  the  neck  and  bit  through  the  skull  into  the  base  of  tin'  brain, 
causing  instant  death.  (A  broad- winged  hawk  experimented  with  at 
the  same  time  always  killed  its  victims  with  its  talon-,  never  touching 
them  with  its  beak  until  they  were  dead.)  A  honey-locust  perch,  set 
with  sharp  thorns  2  inches  long,  had  been  put  into  the  shrike's  cage, 
and  on  this  it  tixed  the  mouse,  a  thorn  entering  below  the  shoulder 
blade  and  passing  out  through  the  breast.  Then  (10  a.  m.)  it  ate  the 
brains.  At  l»>.:5<>  it  picked  from  twenty  to  thirty  mouthful-  of  hair 
from  the  hind  quarters,  made  incisions  and  removed  the  skin,  and  then 
ate  the  large  muscles.      By  L1.30  it  had  devoured  the  whole  body, 


102  BIRDS    OF    A     MARYLAND    FARM. 

including  viscera  and  skin.  Several  days  later  the  shrike  dispatched  a 
live  English  sparrow  about  as  it  had  the  mouse,  and  impaled  the 
carcass.  Then  it  plucked  the  breast  and  ate  the  pectoral  musclesj 
the  lungs,  and  the  heart.  Live  snakes  (Storeria  dekayi)  and  lizards1 
(Scelqporus  undulatus)  were  also  fed  to  the  shrike.  A  toad  was  put 
into  the  cage,  and  it  attacked  it.  hut  soon  desisted  in  evident  distress, 
caused  probably  by  the  toad's  irritating  secretions.  Frogs  and  sala- 
manders (Plethodwi)  it  relished.  Goldfish  and  bass  2  or  3  inches  long 
it  killed,  impaled,  and  ate. 

It  disgorged  indigestible  parts  of  its  food  in  pellets,  after  the  man- 
ner of  hawks  and  owls.  Pellets  of  insects  were  not  compact  and  fell 
to  pieces  readily,  hut  those  made  of  remains  of  mice  or  birds  were 
firm  and  kept  their  shape.  When  it  was  fed  on  May-beetles  it  dis- 
gorged a  pellet  in  one  hour  and  twenty  minutes;  when  fed  on  a  mouse, 
in  three  hours.  The  latter  pellet  was  7  by  18  millimeters  in  size  and 
shaped  like  an  olive  seed.  The  largest  one  ejected  contained  the 
remains  of  a  bird  and  a  snake  and  measured  33  by  11  millimeters. 
When  vertebrates  had  been  eaten  their  bones  were  found  inside  the 
pellet  and  the  fur,  feathers,  or  scales  outside. 

VIREOS. 

Twenty-five  vireos  were  collected,  including  2  warbling  vireos 
(Vtreo  (/Urns),  lo  white-eyed  vireos  (Ylreo  noveboracensis),  and  13 
red-eyed  vireos  (  Vino  olivaceus).  Ninety-one  percent  of  their  food 
consisted  of  insects  and  9  percent  of  fruit  (mulberries  and  sassafras). 
Parasitic  wasps  formed  2  percent,  ants  and  other  Hymenoptera  6  per- 
cent, May-flies  -1  percent,  caterpillars  L5  percent,  bugs  IT  percent, 
beetles  2s  percent,  miscellaneous  insects  8  percent,  and  spiders  11 
percent.  The  Hymenoptera,  other  than  ants,  comprised  jointworm 
flies,  saw-fly  larva\  ichneumon  flies,  and  bees  of  the  genus  Halictus* 
rFhe  beetles  included  the  following  kinds: 

Typophorw  cam  llus.  ( <r<  />l<l<»li  ra. 

Diabrotica  12-punctata.  ■Col<t*j>i*  brunnea. 

( )<1m>t<>i<i  dvrsalis.  Coptocycla  bicolor. 

Mordella  8-punctata.  Limonius  quercinus. 

Sympkora  rn<j<>sit.  Agrilus. 

Ecyrus  dasycerus.  Helops  venvstvs. 

Leptura  zebra.  ll,l<<[»<  micans. 

Hyperplatys  aspersus.  Tanymecus  confertus  and  other  Rhyncho- 

Anomala.  phora. 

The  hugs  were  stink  bugs  (Podisus),  leaf-hoppers  (Jassidde),  and 
scale  insects  (Km/us).  The  yellow-throated  virco  (  Vireo  flavifrons) 
has  been  noted  at  Marshall  Hall  by  Mi-.  William  Palmer.  All  the 
vireos  are  very  useful  protectors  of  forest  and  fruit  trees. 


speoii  108 

warblers. 

The  list  of  warblers  noted  at  Marshall  Hall  i-  given  below: 

Black  and  white  warbler  i  Mhiotilta  varia). 

Worm-eating  warbler  (Helmitherus  vermivorus),  I. 

Northern  parula  warbler  (Compsothlypis  americana  usnea  ),  1. 

'S" * •  1 1 » » \x  warbler  (Dendroica  sestiva),  7. 

Black-throated  blue  warbler  i  Dendroica  csrulescens). 

.Myrtle  warbler  (  Dendroica  coronata),  2, 

Magnolia  warbler  I  Dendroica  maculosa),  2. 

Chestnut-sided  warbler  |  Dendroica  pensylvanica). 

Black-poll  warbler  i  Dendroica  striata),  11. 

Yellow-throated  warbler  I  Dendroica  dommica). 

Black-throated  green  warbler  |  Dendroica  virens). 

Pine  warbler!  Dendroica  vigorsi). 

Yellow  palm  warbler  |  Dendroica  palrnarum  hypochrysea  I.     Noted  by  Mr 

William  Palmer. 
Prairie  warbler  I  Dendroica  discolor),  l. 
Oven-bird  (Seiurus  aurocapUlus),  1. 
Water-thrush  (Seiurus  noveboracensis),  2. 
Louisiana  water-thrush  (Seiurus  motacilla),  J. 
Kentucky  warbler  (Geothlypis formosa  I. 
Maryland  yellow-throat  (Geothlypis trichas),  L3. 
Yellow-breasted  chat  |  Tcteria  virens),  4. 

Hooded  warbler  |  WUsonia  mitrata).     Noted  by  Mr.  William  Palmer. 
Wilson  warbler  (  WUsonia pusUla) ,  1. 
Canadian  warbler  |  WUsonia  canadensis),  1. 
Redstart  (Setophaga  ruticilla)tb. 

Of  the  food  of  the  53  specimens  collected  96  percent  consisted  of 
insects  and  4  percent  of  fruit.  The  insect  food  was  distributed  as 
follows:  Beetles,  21  percent;  ants,  wasps,  and  bees,  is  percent;  May- 
flies, lb'  percent;  caterpillars,  14  percent;  bugs  (leaf-hoppers,  scale 
insects,  and  true  bugs)  6  percent;  miscellaneous  insects,  including 
flies,  a  few  grasshoppers,  and  others.  8  percent:  spiders,  11  percent: 
and  miscellaneous  invertebrates,  principally  snails,  '2  percent.  Of  the 
21  percent  of  beetles  3  percent  were  useful  forms.  .~>  percent  neutral, 
and    13  percent  injurious.      The  following  beetle-  were  identified: 

Chlsenius  (larva  I.  Li  mounts  guercinus. 

Harpalus  (larva).  Cerambycidse. 

Anisodactylus  rusticus.  Notoxus  bicolor. 

( hauliognathus.  Bruchidse. 

Staphylinidee.  Rhynchophora    (Otiorhynchidse,    Apion, 

Ptinid.T.  etc.  ). 

JAgyrus  gibbosus.  Xanthonia  villosula. 

Euphoria.  Systena  elongata. 

s  rifd  vespi  rtina.  ( repidodi  ra  h  Ixh 

Aphodius.  Odontota  dorsalis. 

Atsenius. 

The  llvmenoptera  comprised  the  following:    11   percent  of  the    total 

food.  ants,  and  small  bees  (Andrena  and   Halictu£)\   1  percent  useful 


104  BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 


parasitic  wasps  (  Tiphia  inornata  and  Ichneumonidre),  and  3  percent 
jointworm-flies  and  larvae  of  saw-flies.  The  bugs  were  scale  insects, 
leaf-hoppers,  and  true  bugs,  including  Lygdeidse^  Sineadiadema  and 
Podisus.     In  several  instances  warblers  had  fed  on  the  eggs  of  bugs. 

Some  differences  naturally  appeared  between  the  food  of  the  purely 
arboreal  species  and  that  of  the  more  terrestrial.  Water-thrushes  took 
ground-beetles.  Maryland  yellow-throats  secured  more  grasshoppers 
than  were  taken  by  arboreal  warblers.  The  yellow-breasted  chat, 
larger  than  the  other  species,  ate  such  large  beetles  as  Ligyrus  and 
Eu I'lmr'ni.  It  also  fed  on  larva.4  of  ground-beetles,  which  are  outside 
the  feeding  range  of  strictly  arboreal  warblers.  In  a  chat's  stomach 
elderberries  were  found,  and  in  the  stomachs  of  two  myrtle  warblers 
collected  in  February  was  the  fruit  of  red  cedar.  The  arboreal 
warblers  other  than  the  myrtle  warbler  are  probably  almost  purely 
insectivorous. 

Most  of  the  warblers  of  the  genus  Dmdroica  destroy  immense  quan- 
tities of  insects.  As  an  illustration  of  their  value  in  this  regard  an 
extract  is  quoted  from  a  letter  concerning  the  palm  warbler  received 
by  the  Biological  Survey  from  Mr.  Robert  H.  Coleman: 

I  counted  the  number  of  insects  he  caught  in  a  minute  and  found  it  varied  from 
40  to  60  per  minute.  He  spent  at  least  four  hours  on  our  piazza,  and  in  that  time 
must  have  gathered  in  about  9,500  insects. 

MOCKINGBIRDS,  CATBIRDS,  THRASHERS,  AND  WRENS. 

The  mockingbird  (Mimus  polyglottos,  tig.  38)  was  usually  seen  at 
Marshall  Hall  only  in  fall  and  spring,  but  during  1902  a  pair  nested 
near  the  cow  barn.  In  the  middle  of  November,  1899,  two  stomachs 
were  collected.  One  contained  the  skin  and  25  seeds  of  pokeberries 
and  another  31  of  the  same  seeds,  the  leg  of  an  ant,  and  the  remains  of 
a  larval  ground-beetle.  The  bird's  selection  of  ants  and  ground-beetles 
shows  affinity  in  food  habits  with  its  nearest  relative,  the  catbird. 
Both  species  are  highly  frugivorous,  and  where  abundant  in  fruit- 
growing districts  may  do  some  harm. 

The  catbird  (Galeosooptes  carolinensis)  is  the  most  numerous  bird 
during  the  breeding  season  on  the  Bryan  farm  at  Marshall  Hall.  The 
examination  of  71  stomachs,  collected  from  May  to  August,  inclusive, 
showed  that  41  percent  of  the  food  consisted  of  animal  matter  and  59 
percent  of  vegetable  matter.  The  latter  part  comprised  the  following 
fruits:  Cultivated  cherries,  wild  black  cherries,  black  raspberries, 
dewberries,  blackberries,  strawberries,  mulberries,  pokeberries,  elder 
berries,  blueberries,  and  the  berries  of  sassafras,  woodbine,  and  cat- 
brier.  Of  the  animal  matter,  snails  and  thousand-legs  composed 
1  percent,  spiders  2  percent,  parasitic  wasps  1  percent,  ants  6  percent, 
caterpillars  6  percent,  beetles  lo  percent.  May-flies  u  percent,  and 
miscellaneous  insects  1  percent,  including  grasshoppers,  bees  (Halictus 


8PE<  I  E8. 


105 


and  Andrena),  bugs  {Emchistus,  Corimeld&na^  etc.),  and  flies  (Tipulidae 
and  Calliphora  vomitoria,  the  caddis-flies  and  larva*  of  saw-flies). 
The  caterpillars  were  cut  worm-  (Agrotis  and  Nephelodes  violctm),  an  I 
in  several  cases  such  bristly  larvae  as  Sptlosoma,  Tin1  parasitic  wasps 
were  [chneumonidse   and  scoliid  wasps  (Tiphia  inornate).     Ant-  are 


FIG.  88.— Mockingbird. 

a  characteristic  element  of  the  food.  In  the  present  instance  they 
included  Lasvus,  Tetramorium,  Formica  subsericea,  and  Oamponotus 
pennsylvaniciis.  The  coleopterous  food  is  interesting  because  four- 
fifths  of  it  consisted  of  injurious  beetles.  The  list  of  beetles  identified 
IS  a-  follows: 


LachruMtema. 

Anomala  lucicola. 

Dichelonycha. 

Onthophagus  /»  nnsylvanicus. 

Aphodius. 

Odontota  dorsalis. 

LongUarsus. 

Hsemonia  nigricornis. 

( brymbUes  pyrrhos. 

Monocrepidius  auritus. 

Anisodadylus  rusticus. 


Brachylobus  lithoph  ilus. 
Oychrus  8teno8tomu8. 
Harpcdus. 

( 'hl;i  niiis. 

Staphylinw  dnnamopterus. 

ChaiUiognathus. 

Hister. 

Tenebrioni'l.t . 
I-Jpir;,  rus  imbticatus. 
Tanymecus  confi  rtus. 


Were  cherries,  blackberries,  and  raspberries  raised  for  market  on 
the  farm  in  large  quantities,  the  host  of  catbirds  with  their  highly 
frugivorous  habits  might  do  harm,  but  as  this  is  not  the  case  they  not 
only  cause  no  loss  but  are  beneficent  through  their  destruction  of 
insect  pests. 

The  brown  thrasher  (Toxostoma  rufum,  fig.  39),  which  is  not  common 
on  the  Marshall  Hall  farm,  is  somewhat  more  insectivorous  than  its 
relative  the  catbird.  Only  one  stomach  was  collected.  This  contained 
black  raspberries,  cherries,  a  cricket,  a  ground-beetle,  and  a  May- 


10() 


BIRDS    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 


beetle.     May-beetles  appear  to  1m-  relished  by  the  thrasher  and  are 
destroyed  wholesale  where  the  bird  is  abundant. 


1    ,A0^S 


Ftg  39.— Brown  thrushc 


The  house  wren  (Troglodytes  aedon,  fig.  40)  takes  no  vegetable  food. 
Twenty  stomachs  were  collected  from  May  to  August,  inclusive.     Thev 


Pig.  40. — House  wren. 


showed  the  food  to  have  been  distributed  as  follows:  Grasshoppers  and 
crickets,  l'7  percent;  moths,  cutworms,  measuring  worms,  and  allied 


8PE(  I!  107 

larva-.  L9  percent;  beetles,  11  percent,  including  Carabidae,  Ce ram  by - 
cidae,  Tenebrionidae,  Elateridae  (Drasteriuti),  Scarabaeidae  (Aphod 
Rhynchophora,  and  Chrysomelidae  (Systena  dongctfa,  etc.);  bugs  (true 
bugs  including  Myodocha  serripes  and  a  few  leaf -hoppers),  9  per- 
lent;  ants,  N  percent;  May-flies,  2  percent;  miscellaneous  Insects,  "_' 
i  i  rcent;  spiders,  iM  percent:  and  snails,  1  percent. 

The  winter  wren  (Olbiorchilus  hiemalis)  was  observed  hunting  for 
insects  and  spiders  in  brush  piles,  but  n<>  stomachs  were  collected. 

The  long-billed  marsh  wren  (Cistothorvs palustris),  though  like  the 
house  wren  it  eats  aothing  but  insects,  can  not  be  expected  to  help 
crops  because  of  the  remoteness  of  it-  marshy  habitat.  Five  birds 
were  collected.  Spider-  and  beetle-  ( ( 'alandra  '//•//:</.  Donacia,  Hippo- 
damia  maculata)  formed  the  major  part  of  their  food.  The  minor 
part  was  composed  of  true  bugs,  Leaf-hoppers,  flies,  parasitic  wasps, 
and  ants. 

One  Carolina  wren  (  Thryothorvs  ludovicianus)  was  collected.  It 
had  eaten  caterpillars,  grasshoppers,  and  hectic-  (longicorns  and 
leaf-beetles,  including  Odontota  dorsalis). 

CREEPERS  AND  NUTHATCHES. 

The  brown  creeper  (Certhia  familiaris  americana)  play-  a  useful 
part  in  ridding  tree  trunks  of  insect  vermin.  One  stomach  was  taken. 
It  contained  -uch  hectic-  a-  Helops  aereus  and  Bruchns  hibwei,  saw- 
flies,  flying  ants,  spiders,  and  seeds  of  the  scrub  pine. 

Two  other  beneficent  gleaners  of  tree-trunk  insects  are  the  nut- 
hatches {Sitta  caroliru  nsis  and  Sitta  canadensis).  Both  were  observed 
at  Marshall  Hall,  but  no  specimens  were  collected.  Prof.  E.  Dwight 
Sanderson  has  shown  that  the  white-bellied  nuthatch  U^'A^  on  both 
seeds  and  insects.  He  found  it  eating  ragweed  and  sunflower  seeds, 
corn,  and  a  ven  -mall  amount  of  mast.  His  observations  show  it 
to  be  very  fond  of  hue--  and  their  eggs,  and  that  it  selects  most  often 
such  Tingitidae  as  Plesma  <;/,,/■></.  Reduviidae,  Coreidae,  and  Jassidae. 
It-  hectic  food  include-  Carahi(he.  Klateridae.  Scarabaeidae,  and 
Buprestidae.  Ants  (My rmicidae) are  taken  in  large  numbers.  It  also 
catches  some  parasitic  wasps  (Braconidae)  and  frequently  secures 
Btone-flies,  dragon-flies,  and  true  flies. 


TITMICE. 

One  tufted  titmouse  (Parus  bicolor)  was  collected  duly  :♦.  L898.  It 
had  eaten  several  blueberries,  a  longicorn  hectic,  and  a  large  cutworm. 

Seven  Carolina  chickadees  (Parus  carolinensis)  were  taken  during 
February,  April,  .July,  and  August.  Vegetable  matter— mulberry 
Beeds,  pine  seeds,  and  ragweed  seeds     was  present  in  four  stomachs. 

All  the  birds  had  eaten  insects.     One  had  eaten  1   bee  (Andrenidae),  2 

i 

ik,  Vol.  XV,  pp.  144-148,  L898 


108  BIK1»    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

ants,  3  insect  eggs,  3  spiders,  and  3  caterpillars  (measuring  worms, 
Geometridse  and  hairy  Arctiidse,  which  arc  usually  avoided  by  birds). 
One  of  the  stomachs  examined  contained  katydid  eggs  and  two  others 
eggs  of  the  wheel-bug.  Between  200  and  300  eggs  of  the  fall  canker- 
worm  have  been  found  in  the  stomach  of  a  black-capped  chickadee 
and  450  eggs  of  a  plant-louse  in  that  of  another.  The  eating  of  insect 
eggs  is  a  characteristic  habit  of  the  chickadee,  and  makes  the  bird. 
small  as  it  is,  one  of  the  most  effective  destroyers  of  insect  pests.  It 
is  of  particular  value  in  the  orchard,  and  every  horticulturist  would 
do  well  to  encourage  it. 

KINGLETS. 

The  golden-crowned  kinglet  (Regvlus  *<itr<ij><t)  and  the  ruby-crowned 
kinglet  (Regulus  calendula)  are  useful  insectivorous  midgets.  Thcy 
were4  observed  at  Marshall  Hall,  but  were  not  killed. 

GNATCATCHERS. 

Three  blue-gray  gnatcatchers  (Polioptila  caerulea)  were  collected. 
They  had  eaten  longicorn  beetles,  joint-worm  flies,  caddis-flies,  and 
several  minute  flies  (unindentitied  Diptera). 

THRUSHES. 

The  wood  thnsh  (Hylocichla  mustelina),  Wilson  thrush  {Hylocichla 
fuscescens),  hermit  thrush  (Hylocichla  guttata  j><ill<isi)%  gray-cheeked 
thrush  (Hylocu -Ida  alicice),  and  olive-backed  thrush  (Hylocichla  ustuA 
/at, i  swainsoni)  were  noted  at  Marshall  Hall —the  first  as  a  breeding 
bird,  the  last  four  as  migrants. 

Three  stomachs  of  the  gray-cheeked  thrush  were  taken  May  15, 
1900.  They  contained  saw-fly  larva1,  ants,  caterpillars,  May-flies, 
ground-beetles,  weevils,  and  scarabseid  beetles  (Anomala,  Atdeniu8% 
Lachnostema,  and  Serica). 

Two  olive-backed  thrushes,  also  collected  in  May.  had  eaten  ants 
((  amponotuspt  nnsylvanicus),  wasps  (Tipkia  inornata),  ground-beetles! 
darkling-beetles  (Helqps),  and  ground-spiders  (Lycosidre). 

The  robin  (Merula  migratoria,  fig.  41)  is  seen  on  the  farm  only  during 
the  colder  half  of  the  year.  One  bird  collected  in  the  blizzard  of  the 
third  week  of  February,  L900,  had  fed  on  smilax  berries.  Field  obser- 
vations and  the  examination  of  stomachs  collected  elsewhere  show  that 
somewhat  more  than  half  of  the  robin's  food  IS  fruit.  That  which  it 
takes  at  Marshall  Hall,  however,  consists  merely  of  wild  berries.  In 
the  second  week  of  April,  L899,  8  birds  were  collected.  Five  had  eaten 
ground-beetles,  and  four,secured  in  a  field  that  was  being  plowed,  had 
taken  large  quantities  of  the  larva?  of  the  ground-beetle,  Ha/rpahi 
caligin08U8,  which   as  before  stated   has    lately  been    found  harmful  to 


SPECIES. 


1  n«.» 


Btrawberries.     The  other  beetles  eaten  were  darkling-beetles  (Opat 
n"s),  and   two  clover   weevils  (Sitones  hispidvlus  and    Phyt 
punctatus).     One  i< >> m n  hud  fed  <>n  the  pupa  of  a  dipterous  insect  and 
two  had  picked  up  cocoons  of  a  tineid  moth.     Several  had  destn 
Cutworms  and  army  worms.      Two  had  eaten  ♦'»  cutworms  apiece. 

The  rohin  ia  abundant  and  La  most  useful.  It  is  the  scourge  of  the 
Insects  that  infest  the  open  cultivated  fields  <>f  the  farm.  Unfortu- 
nately it  usually  gets  little  credit  for  its  virtue-,  is  outlawed  for  vices 
that  it  doe-  not  possess,  and  is  -hot  in  Large  numbers  for  food.    • 

Bluebirds  (Sialia  waits,  PI.  XVII,  fig.  L)  breed  hut  sparingly  at 
Mar-hall  Hall  on  account  of  the  persecutions  of  the  English  sparrow. 
By  twenties  and  thirties  they  visit  the  farm  in  spring,  autumn,  and 
even  winter.     Two  birds  were  taken  Februarv  20,  L  900,  and  five  on  the 


Fig.  41.— Rnhin. 


19th  of  the  previous  November.  Six  of  these  had  eaten  fruit,  which 
constituted  rather  more  than  half  of  all  the  food.  It  was  composed  of 
the  berries  of  bittersweet,  woodbine,  cedar,  sumac,  and  poison  ivy. 
One  had  eaten  8  poison  ivy  berries  and  l!.~>  cedar  berries  apparently 
a  pretty  large  dose  of  stimulating  drugs.  All  had  eaten  insects. 
Their  selection  had  fallen  on  such  highly  flavored  species  as  ground- 
beetles  (Harpaltui),  stink  bugs  (Pentatomidse),  and  other  bugs,  includ- 
ing Alydus  julnsuhis.  One  had  eaten  a  dung-beetle  (Aphodius). 
Grasshoppers  and  crickets  had  also  entered  into  their  fare.  Cater- 
pillars, including  bristly, Arctiidse  and  cutworms,  had  been  the  prey 
of  all.  It  is  a  pleasant  duty  t<>  report  that  this  bird,  so  popular 
throughout  the  land.  i-.  through  it-  excellent  work  a- a  destroyer  of 
noxious  insects,   well  worthy  the   protection   and  encouragement  it 


110  BEBD8    OF    A    MARYLAND    FARM. 

receives.  Bluebirds  no  longer  nest  on  the  Bryan  farm,  though  a  few 
pairs  with  their  broods  enter  it  during  the  summer  to  feed.  But  they 
were  abundant  there  until  ousted  by  the  English  sparrows,  and  nested 
all  about  the  place.  A  characteristic  nesting  spot  in  an  old  stump  on 
the  front  lawn  of  the  house  is  shown  in  PI.  XVII,  tig.  2.  One  of 
the  most  serious  charges  that  can  be  brought  against  the  English 
sparrow  i><  the  usurpation  of  the  dooryard  homes  of  these  beautiful 
gentle,  and  highly  useful  birds. 

VIII.— SUMMARY. 

The  following  conclusions  are  drawn  solely  with  reference  to  the 
relationship  of  birds  to  the  farmers  at  Marshall  Hall:  and  while  to  a 
certain  extent  they  indicate  the  general  relationship  of  birds  to  agri- 
cultural interests,  yet  special  conditions,  of  these  particular  farms  as 
well  as  any  others,  sometimes  have  a  modifying  influence  that  must  be 
taken  into  account. 

At  Marshall  Hall  the  English  sparrow,  tin1  sharpshinned  and  Cooper 
hawks,  and  the  great  horned  owl  are,  as  everywhere,  inimical  to  the 
farmers*  interests  and  should  be  killed  at  every  opportunity.  The  sap- 
sucker  punctures  orchard  trees  extensively  and  should  be  shot.  The 
study  of  the  crow  is  unfavorable  in  results  so  far  as  these  particular 
farms  are  concerned,  partly  because  of  special  conditions.  Its  work 
in  removing  carrion  and  destroying  insects  is  serviceable,  but  it  does 
so  much  damage  to  game,  poultry,  fruit,  and  grain  that  it  more  than 
counterbalances  this  good  and  should  be  reduced  in  numbers.  The  crow 
blackbird  appears  to  be  purely  beneficial  to  these  farms  during  the 
breeding  season  and  feeds  extensively  on  weed  seed  during  migration, 
but  at  the  latter  time  it  is  very  injurious  to  grain.  More  detailed 
observations  are  necessary  to  determine  its  proper  status  at  Marshal] 
Hall. 

The  remaining  species  probably  do  more  good  than  harm,  and 
except  under  unusual  conditions  should  receive  encouragement  by  the 
owners  of  the  farms.  Certain  species,  such  as  flycatchers,  swallows, 
and  warblers,  prey  to  some  extent  upon  useful  parasitic  insects,  but  on 
the  whole  the  habits  of  these  insectivorous  birds  are  productive  of 
considerable  good.  Together  with  the  vireos,  cuckoos,  and  wood- 
peckers (exclusive  of  the  sapsuckers),  they  are  the  most  valuable  con- 
servators of  foliage  on  the  farms.  The  quail,  meadowlark.  orchard 
oriole,  mockingbird,  house  wren,  grasshopper  sparrow,  and  chipping 
sparrow  feed  on  insects  of  the  cultivated  fields,  particularly  during 
the  breeding  season,  when  the  nestlings  of  practically  all  species  eat 
enormous  numbers  of  caterpillars  and  grasshoppers. 

The  most  evident  service  is  the  wholesale  destruction  of  weed  seed. 
Even  if  birds  were   useful  in    no  other  way,  their  preservation  would 


9UMMABY.  Ill 

still  be  desirable,  since  in  destroying  large  quantities  of  weed 
ihey  array  themselves  on  the  side  of  the  Marshall  Hall  farmer  against 
invaders  that  dispute  with  him,  inch  by  inch,  the  possession  <>f  hi-  fields. 
[The  most  active  weed  dot  rovers  are  the  quail,  dove,  cowbird,  red- 
winged  blackbird,  meadow  lark,  and  a  dozen  species  <>t"  native  sparrows. 
The  utility  of  these  species  in  destroying  weed  seed  is  probably  at 
least  as  great  wherever  the  birds  may  lie  found  as  investigation  ha 
shown  it  to  be  at  Marshall  Hall. 


INDEX 


- 

s  maculari 
itis  vocifei 
us  phoenii  •    • 
Aix  >.p<>ii-. 

Ammodramus  henslowi,  '.»7. 
Bandwichensis  savanna,  '.'7. 
Bavannamm  passerinus,  IS,  . 
Ampelis  cedrorum,  17 

obscui 

Antrostomus  vociferus,  91. 

Ants,    . 

Aquila  chrya  letos,  8 

herodias,  81. 
virescens,  81. 

ria  morinel] 
ccipitrinus 
_  ilinus  tristiv  75-7 
Aythya  affin 
americana    - 
mari'..     - 
vallfe 
Baldpe 
Beans,  lima 

string 
I 

'-40. 
30. 

ist  leaf-mining,  J'.>-30. 
potal 

tiger,    " 
tort<    - 

twelve-spotted  cucumber,  - 
Birds,  <li-tril.uti.pi,. 
Bir.l-  eating  ants,  34. 

-  and  wasps, 
blueberries,  61. 
cherries 
elderberries,  60-61. 

locust  leaf-mining  b< 
me] 

mulberrit  - 
parasitic  wasps,  K), 
raspberries  and  blackberi 


7222  -No.  17     02 


S 


Birds  eating  Btrawben 

various  wild  fruil 
I,  71. 
- 
wild  cherri( 
that  depend  <>n  cover,  1-vit. 
that  feed  in  open  fields,  i ■'-]">. 
Bittern,  least,  81. 
Blackberries 
Blackbird,  crow,  u.  J7 

red- winged 

rust: 
Blackbirds,  n.  47,  77. 
Blueberries,  61. 
Bluebird,  109-110. 
Bobolink,  95. 
Bobwhite,  I 
Bonasa  umbellus 
Braconids,  40—41. 
Branta  canad<  osis,  8 
Bubo  virginianus, 
Buffle-head   S 
Bute,  borealis   8 

lineatus,  K  - 

platvptei       •     • 
Butterfly,  cal 

mourning-cloak 

skipper,  87. 
Buzzard,  turkey. 
Cabbag 
Cabbag 

worn 
Caddis-fly,  25. 
Canvas-back    - 
Cardinal,  7: 

Cardinalifl  cardinalis,  77. 98. 
Carpodacus  purpureus,  76-77,97. 
Carrion.  53 

Catbird,  17-18,  17,  104-105. 
Caterpillars,    • 
Catbartes  aun 
Cedar  bird,  17 
Ceophlceus  pileatu? 
Certbia  huniliaris  americana,  i<»7. 
Ceryle  alr> 
Chsetura  pelagica,  91. 
Charitonetta  albeol 
Chat,  yellow-breasted,  I 
Cherrii-s,  cultivated,  56. 

wild,  61. 
Chickadee,  Carolina,  77.  107-108. 
Cbordeiles  virginianus,  91. 
circus  hudsonius 

L13 


114 


IXDKX. 


Cistothorus  palustris,  107. 
Clangula  clangula  americana   - 
Coccyzus,  americanus,  87. 

erythrophthalmus,  B7. 
Colaptes  auratus,  88,  90-91. 
Colinus  virginianus,  13,  69-71 
Colymbua  auritus,  79. 
Compsothlypis  americana  usnese,  L03. 
Contopus  virens,  91. 
Coot,  Bl. 
Corn,  36,  38,  I 
Corvus  americanus,  14,  17-48,60,53,57-58, 

agus,  1 1.  94. 
Cowbird,  95. 
Crane-flies,  21-22. 
Crayfish,  9. 
Creeper,  brown,  107. 
crops  infested  by  insects.  24-28. 
Crossbill,  red,  97. 

white-winged,  '.<7. 
Crow,  14,  47-48,  50,  53,  57-58,  65-66,  94. 

fish,  14,  94. 
crow  blackbird,  14,  47-4* 
Cuckoo,  black-billed,  87. 

yellow-billed,  87. 
Cutworms,  32. 
Cyanocitta  cristata,  93-94. 
Cyanospiza  cyanea,  98 
Dafila  acuta.  80. 
Dendroica,  loi. 
Dendroica,  aestiva,  103. 

caerulescens,  103. 

corona  ta,  103. 

discolor,  103. 

dominica,  103. 

maculosa,  103. 

palmarum  hypochrysea,  103. 

pensylvanica,  103. 

striata.  108. 

vigorsi,  103. 

vircus.  103. 
Dolicliouyx  ory/.ivorus,  95. 
Dbryphora  10-lineatus,  25. 
Dove,  mourning,  13-14,  77-7*,  85. 
Dryobates  pubescens,  t7,  88. 
Duck,  black,  80. 

lesser  scaup,  80. 

scaup,  80. 

wood,  80. 
Eagle,  bald.  50,  85. 

golden,  85. 
Ectopistes  migratorius,  ^r>. 
Elderberries,  60  61. 
F.inpidonax  virescens,  91,  92. 
FalCO  sparvcrius,  85,  86. 
Finch,  purple,  76  77.  97. 
Fireflies,  :;7. 

Flicker,  88,  90-91. 

Flies  86,  39. 

Flycatcher,  acadian,  91,  92. 

greal  crested,  91,  98. 
oi  tailed,  91. 
i-  ood,  Insect,  21. 

vertebrate, 
Food  of  nestlings  43. 
Fruit. 


Fruit,  cultivated. 

miscellaneous,  56-57,  61-62. 

wild 

Fulica  americana,  81-82. 
Galeoscoptes  carolinensis,  17-18,  17,  104-105. 
Gallinago  delicate 
Game,  50-52. 
Gavia  imber,  80. 

lumme,  B0. 
Geothlypis  Formosa,  103. 

trichas,  103. 
Glasses  used  tor  Held  work.  43-44. 
Gnatcatcher,  blue-gray,  108. 
Golden-eye,  80. 
Goldfinch,  75-76,97. 
■  ianada,  so. 
Grain,  65-70. 
i  r rapes,  57. 

Grasshoppers,  :'.'J.  48-49. 
Grebe,  horned,  7(.». 

pied-billed,  79. 
Ground-beetles,  ;>7-:;s. 
Grouse,  ruffed,  85. 
Gull,  herring,  80. 

ring-billed,  80. 
Haliaeetus  leucocephalus,  50,  85. 
Harelda  hyetnalis,  80. 
Hawk,  broad-winged,  85,  86. 

Cooper,  50-51,85. 

marsh,  54,  - 

red-shouldered,  85,  86. 

red-tailed.  85. 

sharpshinned,  51-52,  85. 

sparrov .  85,  B6. 
Helmitherus  vermivorus,  103. 
Helodromas  solitarius,  83. 
Heron,  black-crowned  night,  81. 

great  blue,  81. 

green,  81. 

little  blue.  81. 

snowy,  81. 
Herons.  9. 

Hirundo  erythrogastra,  16,  98. 
Hummingbird,  ruby-throated,  91. 
Hydrocbelidon  nigra  surinameiisK  80 
Hylocichla  alicia  .  l  8. 

fuscescens,  108. 

guttata  pallasi,  pis. 

mustelina,  los. 

ustulata  swaitisoui,  lii^ 
ichneumon  flies,  40. 
leteria  virens,  m:;. 
Icterus  galbula,  98. 

spurius,  17.  14-45,  96. 
[ndigo  bird,  98. 
[nseel  food,21  12. 
Insects,  destructive,  80*36. 

proportion  contained  in  bird  stomachs,  n 

si  nut.-  infested  by,  28-80. 

trees  Infested  by,28  30. 

useful,  86-41. 
Jay,  blue,  98-94. 
Junco,97. 

Junco  hyemalis,97. 
Killdeer,88. 
Kingbird,  17,91-92. 
Kingfisher,  87-88. 


l.Mi  K X 


Kinglet,  golden-crow  oed  108 

ruby-crow  ned,  niy. 
Lady-birds    - 

Lanius  ludovicianus,  54, 100  li 
Lark,  horned, 93. 
Larus  argentatus,  80. 

delawarensis, v" 
Loon,  80. 

red-throated,  s". 
Lophodytes  cucullatus,  80. 
Loxia  curvirostra  minoi 

leucoptera,  97. 
Mallard,  80. 
Mammals,  5 1 
Mareca  amerlcana,80. 
Martin,  purple,  17,98. 
May-beetle,  32. 
Ma; 

Meadowlark,  12,77,9 
Megascops  asio,  B6. 
Melanerpes  carolinus, vv 

erythrocephalus,  88, 90. 
Meleagris  gallopavo  fen 
Melons,  27,57 
Melospiza  lincolni,97. 

melodia,  16,97. 
Merganser,  hooded,  80. 

red-breasted,  B0. 
Merganser  serrator,  80. 
Merula  migratoria,  108-109. 
Mice,  54  55. 

Mimus  polyglottos,  10-4. 
Mniotilta  varia,  LOS. 
Mockingbird,  104. 
Molothrus  ater,95. 
Moths,  86. 
Mulberries,  59 
Murre,  Briinnich,  80. 
Muscivora  forficata,  91. 
Myiarchus  crinitus,91,93. 
Nestlings,  food,  13-49. 
Nettion  carolinensis,  V|». 
Night-hawk,  91. 
Nuthatch,  red-breasted,  i  <  >t  . 

white-breasted,  107. 
Nycticorax  nycticorax  usevius,  81 

Oak  sea!.'.  :',ii. 

Oats,  66,  68,  69. 

Odontota  dorsalis,  29  30. 

Olbiorchilus  hiemalis,  107. 

Old-squaw.  B0. 

( Hor  columbianus,  80. 

oriole.  Baltimore 

orchard,  17,  14-46,  96. 
Osprey,  85. 
<  itocoris  alpestrie 
Oven-bird,  108. 
owl.  barred,  86. 

b-horned,  52,  86. 

Bcreech,  86. 

short-eared,  86. 
Pandion  ballagtus  earolinent 
Parua  bicolor,  107. 

carolinensis,  77.  iu7  108. 
Passer  domesticus,  17,68  69. 
Passerella  iliaca,  '.*7. 
Peas,  21. 


Pelleti 

by  ihi 
Pewee, 
Phllohela  mil 

l'h.,,1.. 

Pigeoi 

Pintail 

Pipilo  erythrophthalmui 

Piranga  erythromeli 

rubi 
Plant  li'  ■ 

Podilymbus  podicepi 
Poison  i  i 
Polioptila  cerulea,  108. 

Porzana  Carolina,  vi 
Potato,  Bweel 

whit 
Potato-beetle,  25. 

Poultry. 

Progne  subis,  17. 08. 
Querquedula  discoi 
Qui8calus  quiscula,  1 1.  :: 
Quiscaluti  quiscula  ■>  neus,  77. 

Rabbit* 
Kail,  Bora,  Bl. 
Raspberries,  60. 
Redhead,  80. 
Redstart.  LOS. 
Regulus  calendula,  108. 

satrapa,  108. 
Riparia  riparia,  W-  17, 98. 
Robin,  L08-109. 
Rest  chafer,  81-82,  87. 

Sandpiper,  solitary.  88. 

spotted,  88. 
Sapsucker,  yellow-bellied,  88-90 
Sawflies,  29. 

Sayornis  phoebe,-91,92  !  3. 
Scolecophagus  carolinus,  (.'(;. 
Seeds,  distribution  by  birds,  62-65. 

weed,  7(1-71. 
Seeds  found  in  crows'  pellets   I 
Seiurus  aurocapillus,  L03. 

motacilla,  103. 

noveboracensis,  L03. 
Setophaga  ruticilla,  103. 

Shoveller.  80. 

shrike,  loggerhead,  54,  LOG-102. 
shrubs  infested  by  insects,  28-30. 
Sialia  sialis,  109-110. 
Siskin,  pine.  '.i7. 
Sitta  canadensis,  L07. 
carolinensis,  L07. 

Slid  la\.  58  .V.i. 

Snipe,  Wilsoi 
Soldier  beetles,  87-88. 
Sparrow .  chipping,  15-16,  c.i7 

English,  17  i 

field,  15,  97. 

fox,  '.'7. 

grasshoppei .  13,  I  ■ 

Benslow,  '.'7. 

Lincoln,  >J7. 
savanna.  ».»7. 
BOng,   lti.  '.17. 


11<> 


NDKX. 


sparrow,  vesper,  97. 

white-throated, 
Sparrows,  distribution,  13,  15-17. 

weed  destruction,  72 
Bpatula  clypeata,  - 
Bphyrapicus  varius,  88-90. 
Spinas  pinas,  97. 
Bpizella  monticola,  '.'7. 

pusilla,  15,  '.'7. 

Bocialis,  15-16,  '.'7. 
Btalk-borei 

Btelgidopteryx  serripenrj 
Sterna  hirundo,  BO. 
Strawberries,  38,  55-56. 
Bturnella  magna,  12,  77.  94-95. 
Swallow,  bank,  16-47,  98. 

bam,  46,  98. 

rough-winged,  98. 

white-bellied,  98.  ' 
Swallows,  99. 
Swan,  w  histling, 
Swift,  chimney,  91. 
Syrnium  varium,  - 
Taehycineta  bicolor,  98. 
Tanagcr,  scarlet,  98. 

summer,  98. 
Teal,  blue-winged,  no. 

green-winged,  80. 
Termites,  34. 
Tern.  80. 

black,  80. 
Thrasher,  brown,  105-10(5. 
Thrush,  gray-cheeked,  108. 

hermit,  108. 

olive-backed,  108. 

Wilson.  108. 

wood,  ins. 
Thryotborns  ludovicianus,  107. 
Tiger-beetles,  37-88. 
Titmouse,  tufted,  i()7. 
Tobacco,  27-28,  86. 
Tobacco  worm,  2£-28,  41. 
Tomatoes,  f>7. 
Topography,  Bryan  farm.  10-20. 

Hungerford  farm,  20-21. 
Totanue  flavipes,  83. 
Towhee,  98. 

Toxostoma  rufum,  105-106. 
Trees  infested  by  insects,  28  SO. 

Troglodytes  aMon,  15-46,  106-107. 

Turkey,  wild,  K">. 

Turnstone,  83. 

Tyrannus  tyrannus,  17,  91-92. 

I'ri.-i  lomvia,  80. 

Vireo  gilvus,  102. 


Vireo  aoveboracensis,  102. 
olivaceus,  102, 

Vireo.  red-eyed.  102. 

warbling,  102. 
white-eyed,  102. 
Warbler,  black  and  whit) 
black-poll, 

black-throated  bine,  103. 
black-throated  green,  108. 

Canadian.  103. 

chestnut-sided,  103. 

hooded,  103. 

Kentucky,  108. 

magnolia,  108. 

myrtle,  in;;. 

northern  panda,  103. 

palm,  lot. 

pine.  1(18. 

prairie.  103. 

yellow.  103. 

yellow  palm.  103. 

yellow-throated.  108. 

Wilson,  103. 

wornveating,  103. 
Warblers.  103-104. 
Wasps,  parasitic,  40-41. 
Wasps  and  bees.  39-40. 
Water-thrush,  103. 

Louisiana.  103. 
Web  worm,  fall,  28-29. 
Weed  destruction  by  native  spaiTOWS,  72-76, 

other  birds,  75, 
Weed  seed,  70-71. 

extent  of  destruction,  78-79. 
Weed  seed  eaten,  71. 
eaters.  71. 
Weevils,  34-35. 
Wheat,  66,68,69-70. 
Whip-poor-will,  91. 
Wilsonia  canadensis,  108. 

mitrata,  103. 

pusilla,  in:;. 
Woodcock,  82-88. 
Woodpecker,  downy,  i: 

pileated,  88. 

red-bellied.  88. 
red-headed.  88,90. 
Wren,  Carolina.  107. 
house,  45-46,  106-107. 
long-billed  marsh,  107. 
winter,  107. 

Yellow  Legs,  88. 

Zenaidura  macroura,  18-14,  77— 7S 

Zonotrichia  albicollis.  '.'7. 


o 


Date    Due 
Due          Returned              Due          Returned 

fo«Y  %  CtS7 

W  1    0  1974 

Mar  1     10 

^I9lfi77 

MAfi  1  7  in 

>idAH  n  i  IQfifl 

aTOwi19 

m  1  9  1984 

COLTur 
UBfUR 


M 


I 


ft 


BIBB 

UNIVERSITY  OF  FLORIDA 


3  1262  08491  6641 


\- 


•».«* 


i- -.-*? 


*ii% 


